Harry Potter and the Cantoris Quest
by anya6
Summary: *Chapter 5 is up!* The beginning of the end. Harry faces off with the coming darkness in his seventh year. Contains H/Hr, unforeseen circumstances, a lost heirloom --- and the quest to find Cantoris. A take on the last book in canon.  R&R.
1. In Your Dreams

Harry Potter and the Cantoris Quest(1/?)   
  
Author: Anya   
Author email: anya@schnoogle.com  
Category: Humor, romance, mystery, adventure, drama  
Keywords: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ginny  
Spoilers: For all the books, just to be safe :D  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: The beginning of the end. Harry faces off with the coming darkness in his seventh year. Contains H/Hr, unforeseen circumstances, a lost heirloom --- and the quest to find Cantoris. A take on the last book in canon. 

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. Song fragment is from _These Dreams_ by Heart. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary. 

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy reading this and future chapters... it's been percolating a long time in my brain and just boiled over :p

Chapter 1: In Your Dreams

Lord Richard Flackenthorp was not your run-of-the-mill wizard. He was quite eccentric, often dropping off the face of the wizarding world for long periods of time, only to resurface with a lot of oddities and tales. Which was quite alright, since he was very, very rich and could afford to cater to his own whims. After spending a long time in Asia, he decided to apparate and visit his favorite great-nephew.

Molly Weasley gave a loud shriek that had Ginny almost dropping the bowl she was washing at the sink. She carefully set the bowl aside, thankful that it was not broken. Then she rushed out of the kitchen just in time to see her mother hugging a strange old man dressed in an oddly formal embroidered transparent polo shirt, under which she could see a white shirt. 

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said to her, "Go and get your father. Hurry!" 

Ginny rushed to the back door, nearly knocking down Hermione and Harry, who were coming in. Hermione, who was in front, accidentally stumbled and Harry had to catch her before she fell. "I'm sorry!" shouted Ginny, pausing a little bit to apologize profusely before rushing off again. 

"I'm not," teased Harry gently as Hermione extricated herself from his arms, blushing furiously at her clumsiness while straightening her apparel. "Evidently, something's amiss. Why ever would Ginny be such in a rush?" said Hermione, busily brushing off imaginary lint on her clothes.

"It seems that I missed something exciting," Ron grinned as he rounded the corner with a basket full of potatoes. "Children, children," he chided, wagging his forefinger in the air. "No hanky-panky in front of the garden gnomes. Speaking of which, why was Ginny running like a garden gnome was after her?"

Arthur Weasley and Ginny went rushing by, running into the house, with the three staring in their wake. "Come on --- let's find out!" Ron motioned urgently to Harry and Hermione.

They entered the kitchen and went to the living room, where they saw an elderly man shaking Mr. Weasley's hand vigorously. "Sir, this is my son, Ron, my daughter, Ginny, and their friends, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione, this is my great-uncle, Lord Richard Flackenthorp!" announced Mr. Weasley grandly, a wide smile splitting his face. 

"Please call me Uncle Dickie. Whenever I hear 'Lord Flackenthorp' why, I keep on looking over my shoulder to see if my father is there --- rest his ghost. The last time I came for a visit, you had just gotten married to your sweet Molly," Lord Flackenthorp paused to squeeze Mrs. Weasley's cheek fondly between his thumb and forefinger. "Now you have a couple of fine children!"

Mr. Weasley coughed into his fist, his face coloring nearly as red as his hair. "You've been gone quite a long time, sir. I already have 5 other sons aside from Ron, and Ginny's the only girl."

"Have I been gone that long?" wheezed Lord Flackenthorp in surprise. "Six sons and one daughter?!" he gasped out loud as his mind caught up with the rest of the information.

"Yes, sir. Bill is with Gringott's Bank, Charlie is working with dragons in Romania, Percy is with the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Fred and George, the twins, just opened their own business ---"

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the finest joke shop this side of the world," Ron interrupted with obvious pride.

Mr. Weasley continued as if not hearing Ron, "Ron will be in his seventh year at Hogwarts, along with his friends, Harry and Hermione," motioning toward the two with a wave of his hand, "and Ginny is a year below them, in the sixth."

"Looks like you've done very well for yourself, son," said Lord Flackenthorp, wiping away tears from his eyes with an enormous snowy white handkerchief that seemed to appear out of nothingness. "I'm proud of you for personally taking it upon yourself to make sure that our line goes on!" he jabbed the hanky in the air for emphasis.

Mrs. Weasley busily shepherded everyone to the kitchen. "Let's have lunch while we catch up on each other's news," she said smilingly.

"I have no problems with that. Hmmm, is that pumpkin pie I smell?" Lord Flackenthorp eagerly looked towards the oven.

"Yes, sir. Mum has been teaching Hermione and I to cook and bake this summer as we wait for school to open," said Ginny primly.

"Well, she's been trying to teach me and Harry too," interjected Ron ungrammatically. "We can also make decent pies but our real job is to taste-test all finished products."

"You boys and your stomachs," Hermione said disgustedly.

"Who are you calling 'boys'? We're 17, hardly boys," emphasized Ron.

"Children, children," it was Harry's turn to tsk-tsk. "No fighting in front of the food."

"Why, is the food going to wilt in embarrassment if we fight in front of it?" wisecracked Ron.

"Some of us are _never _going to grow up," Hermione said with her nose in the air and a smirk on her face. "Too bad, it seems that only Ginny actually inherited good manners from your parents. Right, Ginny?

"Truer words were never said," said Ginny, matching Hermione's smirk with one of her own.

Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. "Ahem. It seems you have forgotten the presence of our esteemed guest." He looked at all of them warningly.

"As punishment," added Mrs. Weasley, "you will all spend the afternoon de-gnoming the garden."

"That's hardly fair!" A chorus of voices rose up in protest. "We were supposed to go down to Hogsmeade!"

"Well, you should have thought of THAT before ragging each other," sniffed Mrs. Weasley. 

And so the afternoon saw all of them in the garden, whirling gnomes above their heads. Hermione peered at Harry worriedly. After all, he was always doing chores while living with the Dursleys. 

"Oi, Harry, are you alright there?" Ron shouted in Harry's direction while letting go of a gnome and watching it stumble about dizzily in the distance. Evidently, Hermione was not the only one worried. 

Ginny also had similar thoughts. "Are you sure that you aren't offended that Mum is making the two of you do chores along with us? I mean, we're used to it, but you're our guests."

"I'm okay. Stop worrying about me like a brood of fussy mother hens," Harry said with a grin, taking the sting off his words.

"Are you calling me a HEN?" roared Ron, pretending to be mortally offended. He started lobbing off gnomes in Harry's direction, starting a throwing war.

Harry didn't think it was much of a punishment. He rather enjoyed doing chores with the others, after a lifetime of doing chores all by himself at the Dursleys'. Besides, it was a small price to pay for spending the summer here. He remembered how Mr. Dursley's reaction was upon receiving the invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Weasley... 

Flabbergasted. There was no other way to describe the look on Mr. Dursley's face upon receiving the morning mail from Harry. He pointed a finger shakily at an envelope that was almost suffocated with the amount of stamps stuck to its face. "I will NOT touch THAT!" his voice rising hysterically, remembering the last time he received such an envelope. Harry casually took it from the table and tore it open. 

"It's an invitation to spend the summer with the Weasleys at The Burrow. They've also invited my friend, Hermione. I would like to go," he said carefully, remembering the last time as well.

It was as if they could not be rid of him fast enough. Harry had to hurriedly pack amidst his aunt's incessant wailing over how "dear, dear Dudleykins" had suffered when his tongue grew enormously swollen (after greedily eating the Ton-Tongue Toffee Fred had accidentally-on-purpose left behind) the last time "those dreadful, dreadful people" came over.

The next thing Harry knew, he was sitting at the curb in front of the house, while Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley peered worriedly behind the curtains. He was supposed to be picked up by Mr. Weasley the following day but he doubted that the Dursleys would still let him in after rushing him and his things out the door. He took a quill and a piece of parchment paper out of his wooden box and then, balancing them on his knee, started to think of whom to write. He doubted if Pig, Ron's owl, could come accurately and fast enough to suit him and began addressing the letter to Hermione. He affixed the letter to Hedwig's leg and watched as she flew away. He sighed. It was only 9 in the morning after all.

Two hours later, Harry looked up in surprise to see a car pull up smoothly beside him. He got up, dusted the seat of his pants and tried to look as presentable as possible. The driver's door opened and Hermione bounced out. "Harry! I couldn't believe your uncle and aunt did that to you. Come on, let's get your things in the trunk," chattered Hermione, giving him a hug. She looked back at the Dursleys (who were still hiding behind the curtains) in disgust. Harry felt immensely cheered up.

"Mother, you've already met Harry before, right?" One of the back windows rolled down.

"Oh, yes, I remember meeting him at Diagon Alley," said Mrs. Granger, still looking a bit shocked to come upon Harry sitting at the curb with his things gathered about him. "Pleased to meet you again."

"The pleasure is mine," said Harry gratefully. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I only asked Hermione to furnish me with directions to go to Ron's place without apparating or taking floo powder."

"Hermione told me of your predicament and, I must say, I was so aghast at your uncle and aunt's behavior that I immediately agreed when Hermione asked if we could come over for you. Whatever were they thinking?"

"Actually, they don't think," said Harry with a grin. "That's the problem."

" Let's go, Harry," Hermione motioned to the seat beside her with a jerk of her head.

Harry slid down on the front passenger seat. "I didn't know you got your license already."

"Just this summer," said Hermione proudly. "I had a perfect score in the exam. It was quite easy, really."

"The day you fail something is the day Dudley will start being nice to me." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Would you like to start WALKING to the Burrow?" Hermione said sweetly.

"Never mind." Harry grinned. 

An hour later found Mrs. Granger, Hermione and Harry in a very nice café called Nicholson's. Harry hungrily devoured his fish and chips while Hermione daintily nibbled on hers. Mrs. Granger was sipping her coffee ("Black, no sugar please") and absentmindedly toying with the spoon on the saucer while recounting what needed to be done. "Harry, you will be staying in the upstairs guest room. Hermione will prepare some towels and toiletries for your use. Don't be shy, just tell us what you require. I'll be going over to the powder room to freshen up." She stood up and walked away from the table.

"Oh, you're definitely in luck," Hermione said in an undertone. "That's the nicer guest room. The other one is usually reserved for relatives who are out of favor with my parents."

"What's the difference?" Harry wanted to know.

Hermione smiled. "The heater in the upstairs guest room actually works."

After lunch, they went on to the Granger house. Hermione helped Harry settle in his bedroom before commandeering his help in shopping for necessities ("We've got to eat tonight and since you're available, you can carry all the heavy packages."). Harry only had enough time to scribble a fast note on a piece of parchment, sending Hedwig to the Burrow to explain to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley not to pick him up at the Dursleys as he would be arriving with Hermione instead.

Going for the groceries was quite fun. Harry had the list and was amazed at Hermione, who kept on adding things in the cart that were not in the list. Not that he was complaining. 

"Uh, Hermione, we've already got everything on the list and a few more besides. Shouldn't we be heading over to pay for all these?"

"We're not done yet! We still have to get a few things like bananas, an extra toothbrush, cucumbers, chocolate, cantaloupes..."

"Ah-hah! Thought you could get that past by me! Since when have you been sneaking chocolate into your sugar-free house?"

A couple who was passing by, overheard bits and pieces of their conversation and thought they were arguing. "See, honey, another reason not to get married. Why ruin a perfectly good relationship?" wheedled the man to the woman.

Harry and Hermione leapt back from the cart. "We are not married!" exclaimed Hermione hotly at the man, who managed to look embarrassed at being caught.

"Why, honey, I never knew you to be such a liar," teased Harry, looping an arm around her shoulders.

"Will you shut up! You're not helping matters at all," Hermione shrugged his arm off, coloring a little.

"I sure will... as long as we get ice cream along with your chocolates," he grinned.

"So now you're into blackmail. How about you sleep on the streets tonight, you, you..."

"Handsome, irrepressibly charming, tall, able-bodied man?"

"Tall is the only truthful thing you've said there. Perv." With that, Hermione flounced off in search of the sweets aisle.

After carrying seven heavy bags of groceries into the kitchen, Harry jokingly groaned. "I think we have enough to last us just in case of a nuclear fallout. Do you always shop for a month's supply at a time?"

"What do you mean a month? Those are only supplies for a week."

"What?! I pity the one who usually carries the groceries in for you."

"Actually, I just took advantage of the fact that you were around to carry the things."

"Oh."

Harry went off to his own room, leaving Hermione to figure out where to stash the illegal booty. Thank goodness I have a personal refrigerator in my room, she thought.

************

Late that night, Harry sneaked down to the kitchen in search of ice cream, only to find that Hermione had beaten him to it. She was already eating from what seemed like an enormous bowl of ice cream topped with marshmallows and chunks of chocolate. "Dig in," she gestured towards the ice cream box.

"Thanks, don't mind if I do," he said, pretending to misunderstand her and grabbed an extra spoon with which he swiped the ice cream in her bowl.

"Hey, get your own!" She barricaded the bowl with her arms in mock possessiveness.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to share?"

"I know a lazy oaf when I see one and I'm looking at one now."

"Why do I have to get another bowl? At least this way, we do our part for the environment and wash only one." He looked at her earnestly.

Hermione felt herself weakening and stiffened her resolve. It was always hard not to give in to Harry but she gave it her best shot. "I could just magically do the dishes."

"What? And break the over-the-hols rule about not doing any magic? You know we're not allowed."

She sighed. "Well, you have to work for it," and grabbed the bowl, carrying it over her head and running towards her room.

"Not fair!" Harry gave chase.

Hermione was on the other side of the bed, trying to spoon the ice cream as fast as she could into her mouth, eyeing Harry warily for his next move. As he clambered atop her bed, she tried to run around it, only to be captured around the waist and deposited in the middle of the bed, ice cream spilling on her nightgown and the bedclothes. Harry pinned her down with his hands while she squirmed about, trying to break free. "Harry, my things are absolutely ruined. At least you can't have any more of my ice cream, it's all spilt."

"There's still some here." Gently, he pressed his lips to her cheek to remove traces of the ice cream. Hermione became still. "And here. " He licked the corner of her mouth. Brilliantly green eyes met soft brown ones. Harry felt like he was drowning in the pools that were her eyes. He lowered his head again. "And here," finally covering her mouth with his.

_Darkness on the edge  
Shadows where I stand  
I search for the time  
On a watch with no hands  
I want to see you clearly  
Come closer than this  
But all I remember  
Are the dreams in the mist_

_These dreams go on when I close my eyes  
Every second of the night I live another life  
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside  
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away_  
  


End of chapter


	2. Going Around In Circles

Harry Potter and the Cantoris Quest(2/?)   
  
Author: Anya   
Author email: anya@schnoogle.com  
Category: Humor, romance, mystery, adventure, drama  
Keywords: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ginny  
Spoilers: For all the books, just to be safe :D  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: The beginning of the end. Harry faces off with the coming darkness in his seventh year. Contains H/Hr, unforeseen circumstances, a lost heirloom --- and the quest to find Cantoris. A take on the last book in canon. 

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. Song fragment is from _Only When I Sleep _by The Corrs. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary. 

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy reading this and future chapters... it's been percolating a long time in my brain and just boiled over :p

Chapter 2: Going Around In Circles

_You're only just a dreamboat  
Sailing in my head  
You swim my secret oceans  
Of coral blue and red  
Your smell is incense burning  
Your touch is silken yet  
It reaches through my skin  
And moving from within  
It clutches at my breast  
  
But it's only when I sleep  
See you in my dreams  
You got me spinning round and round  
Turning upside-down  
But I only hear you breathe  
  
Somewhere in my sleep  
Got me spinning round and round  
Turning upside-down  
But it's only when I sleep  
  
And when I wake from slumber  
Your shadow's disappear..._  


Harry woke up, disoriented. This wasn't Dudley's second best bedroom. He shook his head to clear it and peered at the bedside clock. It was 12 midnight. Hazy wisps of a dream teased the edges of his consciousness as he brushed his bangs off his forehead, feeling his scar gingerly. It was not tingling at all. He got up, feeling confused, and groped about the bedside table for his glasses. He put them on, got off the bed, dressed quickly in a pair of denim shorts and a shirt (which said "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" written in ink that changed colours and made little wheezing sounds) and opened the door just in time to see Hermione coming up the stairs, balancing some bowls and spoons in her arms. Crookshanks was weaving about her feet, making him nervous, though Hermione seemed unaware of the danger.

"Didn't know shopping could knock you out that fast," she whispered. "You're just in time for some chocolate ice cream." Harry crossed the hall and reached around her to open the door as she was trying to reach the doorknob without losing her grip on the things in her hands. "Thanks, Harry. Come on in." He gently closed the door behind him with Crookshanks following inside, his tail regally held in the air. He settled himself near the bureau drawers and promptly went off to sleep.

Hermione handed him a bowl and a spoon before opening the bag of marshmallows. She took out the ice cream and the chocolate bars from the personal ref in her room and set them down on the rug in the middle of the floor. Plopping herself down on the rug she instructed Harry, "Help yourself." He had been in the process of adjusting on his glasses while holding the bowl and spoon in his hands. Tricky business. She ripped open the cover of the ice cream box and spooned out some for herself. Artfully, she arranged the marshmallows and broke a chocolate bar into pieces over the ice cream. Harry frowned, thinking that he had seen this before.

Hermione brought a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth but stopped upon seeing Harry's intense stare, feeling discomfited. She shrugged and continued anyway. "Stop looking at me like that," she said after swallowing. 

"Oops, sorry." Harry sat himself down and, following her lead, scooped out some ice cream and put some toppings on it haphazardly.

"Careful with the rug. Wouldn't want my Mum finding out what we've been doing."

"Worry-wart," he said lazily, spooning some ice cream into his mouth. "Since when have you been sneaking 'forbidden' food in your room like this?" He propped himself against the bed.

"Oh, I don't know. Ever since I went to Hogwarts, I suppose," she shrugged. "Remember those cream-filled chocolates from Honeydukes? And I got addicted to chocolate frogs last year, remember?"

Harry tilted his head to the side, licking the cream from his spoon while considering the question. "I think it was about the same time you told off Justin."

"And now he's got a band of his own. If I hear 'The Finch, the Finch!' " she exclaimed in a falsetto tone, "just one more time, I shall burst."

"Look at it this way. If you hadn't rejected him, he would never have gotten to where he is now."

"What an absolutely horrid thing to say."

"What I meant was," he hurriedly explained, " he was crushed enough to make songs about you. Which means that he had it really bad for you. Isn't that what girls want?"

"But being in The Daily Prophet _again_, portrayed as a... a... flirt and all-in-all bad person is _not _my cup of tea," she told him, feeling upset. She leaned back on the bed and looked at the ceiling despairingly. "It just isn't fair. I mean, _I_ haven't consciously set off to hurt people's feelings, have I, Harry?"

"No, you don't. Stop worrying needlessly," Harry said, moving over to her side. He rubbed her back consolingly. She leaned her head against his shoulder and stared off into space, ice cream all forgotten as she lost her appetite. Harry felt a bit anxious that she would think it was her fault. People like Rita Skeeter wrote to sensationalize. He grew a bit angry at the thought of that scandal-sniffing reporter. The articles she wrote when he was in the Triwizard Tournament had made his life miserable. He couldn't really blame Hermione for her reaction. In his preoccupied state he did not notice how agitated he was until Hermione cried out.

"Ouch, are you trying to make a hole in my back?" she said, scooting away from Harry.

"Sorry about that. I just thought of Rita Skeeter..."

"Well, that explains it. That woman makes my blood boil. One would think that she'd have learn her lesson but..."

"Yeah, after one year, she was as bad as ever, if not worse."

"At least she's no longer an Animagus. I think they did a sort of permanent binding charm so that she can't ever transform again."

"Thank goodness for small favors."

Hermione knelt and started gathering everything on the rug. Harry stood up and took the bowls and spoons from her. "I'll clean these up downstairs and make sure nothing looks suspicious in the morning."

Yawning, Hermione mumbled her thanks and hid the rest of the chocolate and the ice cream in the ref. She went to the top of the stairs and waited for Harry to finish up. They walked together into the guest room, where she opened a cabinet to get him a towel. "Did you find the toothbrush I placed on your sink? There's a tube of toothpaste on the sink." She pattered across the room and upon reaching Harry, gave him a goodnight kiss on the cheek and a hug. He returned the hug and followed her with his eyes as she went across the hall to her room. Harry gently closed his door until he heard a faint 'click' and settled down in his bed.

Then the dream came back to him full force.

He sat up straight so suddenly that he almost hit his head on the headboard. Swinging his feet down, he crossed the room in long strides, opened the door and crossed the hall, where he knocked softly on Hermione's door. She opened it and looking at him with a quizzical expression on her face, looked about the corridor, caught his arm and drew him inside her room. "Is something wrong, Harry?"

"Hermione, please sit down." She sat down on the coverlet of her bed.

"What is it, Harry? You're making me a bit nervous."

"I know we've made a pact to be as honest with each other as possible, so I don't know how to go about telling you this." He sat on the floor beside the bed nervously and drew a deep breath before facing her. "I've been having dreams all summer about things that I sometimes don't remember upon waking up. This time, I was able to remember. Probably because I woke up after it was finished and didn't go off to dream another dream."

"And your point would be...?"

"Wait, I'm getting there." He leaned his head on the bedspread and sighed. "I dreamt that I was involved with you."

"We ARE involved. We're friends, aren't we?" She looked quizzically at him, not comprehending.

"For a smart witch, you sure can be dense at times. What I meant was we were together-_together_, not just together-together."

"Stop speaking in riddles, my head can't take it after midnight."

He plopped his head over, resting it on top of his hands and regarded her seriously. Which made Hermione even more nervous, if that were possible. "Hermione, I dreamt that I kissed you."

Whatever Harry expected her reaction would be, it wasn't the muffled howl of hysterical laughter that issued forth from Hermione, who had buried her face in one of the pillows on her bed. He shook her shoulder, feeling a bit hurt that she had not taken him with the gravity he thought his confession merited. When Hermione had finally calmed down, she rested her head on the pillow, looking at him apologetically.

"I'm really sorry, Harry. It was just that... it was a relief that you weren't about to tell me something along the lines of 'Voldemort has taken over my body' or something similar. The past two years have not exactly been a picnic for me," she added, "always wondering if anytime now, you'll suddenly be struck dead in front of us." Her eyes suddenly filled with unshed tears. He reached over and started stroking her hair. Harry could imagine how his encounters with Voldemort had also taken its toll on his friends. The image of Ron's face suddenly swam in front of him as he recalled their parting words at Platform 9 3/4. "Harry, I'll see you this summer," Ron said forcefully, as if saying that was a talisman against harm before they would meet up again. And what of Hermione, who was constantly telling him to be careful? Her words "Harry, be careful!" had become an inside joke for the three of them, along with "You're a great wizard, Harry. You really are." She was always trying to come up with ways to help Harry, to protect him, tirelessly delving into the books at the library. If Madam Pince ever thought of retiring... Harry grinned at the thought. He looked over at Hermione and found that she had quietly gone to sleep. Wondering if she had even heard the last thing he had blurted out to her, he decided that it could wait until morning. He rested his head on his arm at the edge of the bed and his last thought was that they had better talk about it in the morning...

Harry woke up to see himself settled on the floor beside Hermione's bed with a pillow behind his head and a blanket over his body. It was still night, as there was no hint of light from the blinds on the windows. Sitting up, he stretched and took stock of the situation. Hermione, who must have awakened in the middle of the night just to cover him up, was sleeping fitfully and thrashing about. He got up, covered her with the blanket and sat by her side to stroke her hair and rub her back. He leaned on the headboard and yawned, thinking that he should probably move back to his room when he fell asleep once more.

Hermione woke up and froze. There was a hand covering her stomach as she laid on her side and an arm underneath her neck and since both her own arms were in front of her at present, she was positive it wasn't hers. She could feel a thigh touching the back of her own and a leg intertwined with hers. Harry's chest was pressed to her back --- she could feel the methodical rise and fall of it as she heard him breathing evenly. She inched a little bit away, only to be pulled back by a very sound asleep Harry. She thought frantically of a way to get up without waking him up, panicking at the thought that they would both be embarrassed by finding themselves in the same bed together. Previous sleep-overs-after-staying-up-the-whole-night-talking in the Gryffindor common room did not definitely count, as there were more than two of them on those occasions and somehow, being in her bedroom was a world of intimacy apart. Hermione held her breath as Harry began to stir and flopped over unto his back. She slid downwards and almost fell off the bed in her rush to leave and go to the bathroom. Steadying herself, she walked stealthily and as soon as she reached the bathroom safely, she heaved a sigh of relief and composed herself. Opening the water taps, mixing the temperature in an automatic manner, she let the water run and splashed a bit of it on her face. She looked at her face in the mirror and noticed that she looked as hot as she felt. 

Harry let out the breath that he had been holding for the past few minutes, since he had awaken to the fragrance of Hermione's hair. He had been debating whether to slowly slide his arm away from her or to sit up quietly and leave when he noticed that her breathing had become very shallow and fast. _Now_ he had to stay put. The minutes had stretched by interminably while his body was gradually registering the fact that he had a girl --- no, make that _woman_, his mind amended silently, in his arms. He was hoping desperately that she had not noticed. It was torture having skin touching skin, parts of their body resting tantalizingly against each other. He pretended to move sleepily, whereupon she had moved slowly downwards (What was _that_ that brushed against his leg? He almost gave himself away by groaning aloud), got up oh-so-quietly and entered the bathroom. He quietly swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stood up and went to the his own room. Thank goodness no one else was up. He decided he needed a very, very cold shower. It was Hermione, damn it, and he was NOT going to ruin a great friendship just because... never mind. Harry turned off the heater, turned on the shower and thought fleetingly that he could have stayed in the downstairs guest room after all.

"Morning, Harry!" Hermione thought self-consciously that perhaps she had said that too loudly. Harry was coming down the stairs, dressed in a striped shirt that she had given him two birthdays ago and jeans. She glanced at him uneasily, forcing a smile on her face, which felt like it just might crack under the strain. Harry took one look at her and dragged off a very stiff Hermione until they reached the closet near the front door. Harry opened the door forcefully and pulled Hermione inside. 

"Ummmpppfff." Hermione stared at Harry with wide-eyed shock as he closed the door with one hand and kept the other on her mouth. He spoke hurriedly. "Hermione, if I remove my hand, will you promise not to scream or shout or do anything drastic like run out of the closet before I get to talk to you?" She nodded her head and when he let go of her, she made a slicing motion with her hand across her throat. 

"I may have promised not to scream or run out of here but just you wait..."

"Maybe I should have held out for more..."

"Voldemort won't need to kill you because I will do it for him!"

"Hermione, please listen..."

She visibly calmed herself down, breathing hard from her exertions. Harry took her in his embrace and she returned it. When she had recovered, he let her go and held her hands. "Hermione, I'm really, really sorry that I fell asleep in your room --- you know I didn't mean to ---"

"It's okay, Harry. It was just that... it was embarrassing to find you beside me --- not that we haven't slept together before..." Hermione blushed as a smirk appeared on Harry's face. She poked him in the side. "Oh you know what I meant, don't pretend you don't. We've had overnights of schoolwork projects in the common room but this was different. This was... quite a peculiar situation."

Not to mention nice but Harry doubted if Hermione would appreciate that line of thinking. Instead he schooled his thoughts into a more appropriated direction. "It can be really awkward at times being friends with you." Harry noticed that she stiffened at this and squeezed her hands reassuringly. "What I mean to say is, I'm a guy and as the years pass, I've been increasingly aware that you're a girl. I really appreciate your concern, your gentleness and your... brains..." He grinned and ducked her half-hearted attempt to hit him on the head. "And I value your friendship in the same way I value Ron's, but for different reasons. You and Ron have made me realize how it is to actually have people caring about you." He shook his head as if he still found it unbelievable after all those years.

"Of course it doesn't hurt that I've helped you both to pass Potions yearly," she remarked caustically, seeking to lighten up the tone of conversation.

"For which you have my eternal gratitude."

"Okay," she let out a big sigh, "can we go out now? I'm really hungry. Not that you're entirely off the hook, mister." She shook a finger at him in mock seriousness then ruined her threat by giving him a hug. He hugged her tightly, feeling a sense of rightness about things. 

After a while, Harry felt the mood shift. He became keenly aware of the feel of her hair underneath his hand. The scent of her cologne tickled his nose. She had always used a fruity sort of scent but it was the first time it had gone straight to his head. He felt a trickle of sweat traveling downwards between his shoulder blades...

Hermione almost shivered when she felt him exhale near her ear. His shirt had worn down from all the use he got out of it, and she was acutely aware of the softness of the material. He smelled like crisp linen that had been left out to dry naturally in the sun and she was getting heady from it...

Suddenly, the door opened and they jumped apart guiltily. Mr. Granger stood there, looking at them questioningly with his coat in his hand. "I thought I heard voices in here. Would you like to come out now?"

Fathers always seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to their daughters.

************

Mr. and Mrs. Granger drove them all the way to The Burrow. They did not forget the Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys' kindness to them when they had previously brought Hermione to Diagon Alley. There was a box of batteries for Mr. Weasley and a bag of different colours of yarn for Mrs. Weasley (at which, Harry thought, Ron would be unhappy). After tea, the Grangers departed, leaving Harry and Hermione. Crookshanks prowled about the garden in one of his favourite pasttimes: looking for gnomes. 

"Alright then, Harry, Hermione, let's bring up your stuff." Ron picked up Hermione's bag and exaggeratedly pretended to be bent over by the weight. "What did you pack in here anyway? Planning to donate a portion of your books to the Hogwarts Library?" He cracked up.

"If you're going to complain all the way up, just give me back my bag." Ron mischievously gave it back to her and was so surprised to see her thrust it upon Harry that he started howling in laughter. The girls looked at each other and slowly shooked their heads in unison. "There's the one who needs to be committed to St. Mungo's," Ginny remarked.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry snapped as he started hauling Hermione's bag along with his own. "It's not funny." Which just increased Ron's mirth, as he began rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. 

"Urk. What did you do that for?" Ron sat up, rubbing his head where Harry had unceremoniously dumped one of the bags on his head. 

"Thought that would sober you up." Harry grinned. Ron got Hermione's bag and started lugging it up the stairs in a more normal fashion.

It was almost lunch when Lord Richard Flackenthorp decided to drop by for a visit.

************

Later that night, Harry crawled into bed and thought about the excitement that had occurred that day. Lord Flackenthorp had been persuaded by the Weasleys to spend the night. Manfred, his manservant, was staying with him in Percy's old room. Ron was snoring slightly, sleeping with his legs tangled in the sheets. Harry was sprawled in the bed across him, frowning at the ceiling as he remembered something. He never got to discuss his dream with Hermione, was his last thought before he finally drifted off to sleep.

_Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly..._

Thanks to all those who reviewed Chapter 1: 

Ayla Pascal, Venus4280, Alpha Wolf, Marpessa (Esha!), Opaleye, Lily Vance, Lady Attolia (Attolia!), eeenieboom, SirLoyne (Steve! Thanks for previewing part of this), HarryNZ (Sir Harry!), caliecutie11 (Carla!), Cadey (!), E. C. R. Potter (Eric!) and Kamali. You guys are wonderful.

End of chapter


	3. The Talented Mr. Weasley

Harry Potter and the Cantoris Quest(3/?)   
  
Author: Anya   
Author email: anya@schnoogle.com  
Category: Humor, romance, mystery, adventure, drama  
Keywords: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ginny  
Spoilers: For all the books, just to be safe :D  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: The beginning of the end. Harry faces off with the coming darkness in his seventh year. Contains H/Hr, unforeseen circumstances, a lost heirloom --- and the quest to find Cantoris. A take on the last book in canon. 

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. Song fragment is from _Ready for a Fall_ by PJ Olsson . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary. 

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy reading this and future chapters... it's been percolating a long time in my brain and just boiled over :p

This goes to my really great beta-readers: Steve, Sabs, Cle and Heaven. Thanks to Mia as well for bouncing ideas with me. *glomps all*

Chapter 3: The Talented Mr. Weasley

_You sit there in my shadows   
And you call it your relief   
Don't be the one with bad eyes for   
The things that I could see   
Don't give me that   
  
The darkness has no armor   
Need protection from the air   
High hopes through time passing   
When I see I want you there   
  
I can't believe   
You're the one for me   
If it was this easy to find you   
I should be ready for a fall   
I should be ready for a fall _  
  
It was rather early when Harry awoke, senses alert. Gazing about, he noticed that it was still dark. Ron was snoring in the other bed, with the bedclothes bunched about his waist. Harry plopped back down, tossing and turning for a while before staring at the shadows on the ceiling in fascination. He gave up trying to go back to sleep and got up, walked silently to the window and glanced at the lamppost directly in front of The Burrow. The wind lightly brushed his arms and goosebumps appeared in its wake. Harry shivered. He closed the windows and drew the curtains over them.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw something move. He whipped his head to the side and, under the slit of the door, caught a glimpse of a shadow sliding in the hallway. Cautiously, he went over to the door, opened it a crack and saw a man dressed in dark robes standing in the stairwell. The man moved and Harry felt as though his heart had lodged itself in his throat.

The man was actually gliding a few inches _above_ the floor.

Harry followed him stealthily, inching his way beside the wall in the effort to be invisible while going down the stairs. He held his breath as the man stopped suddenly. Beads of sweat formed along his hairline as seconds seemed to stretch into hours before the man moved again. The man was almost at the door when Harry wiped the sweat off his forehead. His hand had barely passed over his eyes when the man disappeared. Harry blinked in disbelief. The man had gone but_ the door had not been opened_. Neither did he see a wand nor hear a muttered spell.

Before he could stop himself, he rushed to the door and opened it wide. He ran a few steps along the walk in front of the house and whirled around but saw no one there. The light from the lampposts illumined the street clearly and there was barely any movement but for the swaying branches of the trees. He looked up and down the street and did not see any figures moving about.

He did not notice a small creature slipping out the door behind him before disappearing in the bushes.

Harry turned back to go inside the house and quietly closed the door. He headed back upstairs, went into the bedroom and sat down heavily, puzzled over what he had just seen. Swinging his feet up on the bed, he had barely settled his head down on the pillow when he noticed a slight breeze wafting from the opened window. He jackknifed, heart pounding, certain that he had closed it before going out. He closed the window again and, holding the curtains aside with one hand, looked back into the room. Moonlight streamed inside, casting its pale light everywhere. What he saw froze his blood.

Ron's bed was empty. 

Do _not_ panic, he thought to himself. He went out into the hall and checked the loo, which was devoid of any presence. He walked downstairs to check the kitchen but there was no one there either. He immediately thought --- _Hermione_. He ran upstairs and opened the girls' room, where he saw Hermione sleeping peacefully in the bed next to Ginny's. He heaved a sigh of relief and crossed the room. He sat gingerly on her bed and looked at her a few minutes, luxuriating in the sense of relief pervading his entire being. Mentally shaking himself, he laid a hand on her arm and shook her gently. "Hermione, wake up," he whispered urgently.

Hermione woke up, heart beating fast, thankful that Harry had stifled her scream with his hand. "It's only me," he hissed reproachfully.

She whispered back heatedly, "I didn't know it was you! You'd scream too if _someone_ just got it into his bloody head to wake you up in the bloody middle of the bloody night!"

"Shhh!" He grasped her hands and pulled her out of bed until they stepped into the hallway. He framed her face in hands, looked at her wonderingly and then, as if unable to help himself, crushed her in an embrace. Hermione fleetingly thought of struggling away as she was self-conscious about being in her nightclothes but thought better of it as she noted the haunted look in his eyes before he enclosed her in his arms. His heart was fluttering like a bird beating its wings frantically against the bars of a cage. She relaxed and unconsciously her hands started to move soothingly, stroking his back. "Shh, it's okay... it's okay," repeating the words over and over again until she felt his arms slacken a bit around her. She leaned back into his arms and asked softly, "What's wrong, Harry? Did you have a nightmare?"

"It's worse... it's real. Ron is missing. I've been looking everywhere and I can't find him."

"What?!" Hermione quickly went to Ron's room and opened the lights. Ron's bed was achingly empty. She started looking under the bed and in the wardrobe, desperately looking for a sign that he had only gone out. Harry followed her as she went downstairs, hastily pattering about in her bare feet, checking the kitchen, the living room and even the backyard. There was no doubt about it. Hermione sank to her knees as the enormity of it hit her.

Ron was gone. She stared uncomprehendingly at the grass as her hands fell in her lap, clenching and unclenching in tension.

Harry hauled her up and carried her into the living room, settling her on the couch while he quickly told her the circumstances leading to Ron's disappearance. They decided to wake up the whole house and started with Ginny, who was horrified at the turn of events. She, in turn, hurriedly went into her parents' bedroom. 

Waiting outside in the hallway, Harry dreaded talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He was certain that they would blame him, wishing that their son had never made friends with someone who was a perpetual target. He had never more in his life wished desperately that he had never heard of Voldemort, that he never had the scar on his forehead and that he had a normal life. But all the wishing in the world would not bring back one of persons that meant the most to him.

Hermione noticed that Harry was going into a state of shock and hurriedly took him by the hand to lead him down to the kitchen. She sat him down on one of the chairs and, ignoring the chaos churning inside her, held his cold hands, seeking as much comfort as she was giving. She stood up behind him and leaned forward, enclosing his shoulders within her arms, resting her head against his and fighting back her own tears. This was how the others found them. 

Sitting down on the other chairs around the kitchen table, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley suddenly looked older than their years. Ginny stared unseeingly at the table, while Lord Flackenthorp walked around agitatedly. Manfred discreetly lit a fire with a whispered spell and made other preparations about the house. A few rays of light streaked their way across the sky. Dawn was breaking but the mood inside the house was dreary. 

Harry spoke haltingly of what had transpired prior to Ron's disappearance. His voice faltered as he described what he saw and petered out entirely when he came to the part about finding his roommate was gone. Hermione took up the thread of the story, choking back the tears clogging her throat, trying to be brave. Tears started falling silently down her face as she looked upon Mrs. Weasley. The other woman had started sobbing on her husband's chest as he shed tears along with her. Ginny hugged her parents heartbrokenly, sharing in their pain.

Arthur Weasley immediately sent an owl to the Ministry of Magic and informed them of what had transpired. The Ministry quickly sent a team of experts to determine a magical signature for any spells that may have been performed. However, there were no magical signatures found anywhere in the house. It appeared that Ron had been physically taken away. 

There must be nothing worse than having to wait... and wait... and wait. They waited uneasily the whole day for any news about Ron, any contact about his disappearance. Food prepared by the manservant lay untouched on the kitchen table, a silent testimony to the state of disquiet in the house. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been shocked when Harry offered to leave, assuring him that they did not hold anything against him. Molly Weasley hugged Harry as she told him tearfully in no uncertain terms that he and Hermione were a part of their family and that Ron would be angry if he learned that Harry was blaming himself. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief over this --- not for herself, but for Harry. She had been worried about Harry's frame of mind and Mrs. Weasley's words, she knew, went a long way in allaying Harry's fears. He could be quite insecure about his place in people's affections and she could not blame him. Having lived for so long without signs of affection from his aunt's family and then learning that he was famous in the wizarding world made him a little suspicious about people's motives when it came to befriending him. The only ones he could fully and completely trust were few and that included their tight triangle and the entire Weasley family.

On the second day, everyone had haggard faces from lack of sleep as they all passed the night in wakeful silence. Harry, Hermione and Ginny huddled together, drawing up a list of places where Ron might be. Harry and Hermione went around, searching around The Burrow and the immediate vicinity. Ginny owled her other brothers, casually asking if Ron had popped over to visit them, in hopes of receiving good news. Percy owled back immediately with a "No." Fred and George, who were in the midst of making a general inventory for the year, replied that they could have used Ron's help but he hadn't been there. Charlie owled back that he hadn't seen Ron and was there something going on? Bill was the most perceptive of the lot --- he read between the lines and apparated back to the burrow, to everyone's relief. 

It was the third day of agony before an owl came to The Burrow. Harry recognized it as one of the barn owls that resided in the Hogwarts' owlery. Mr. Weasley untied the message on the owl's leg and unfurled the small scroll. He collapsed into a chair and stared in disbelief at the message it contained. The hand holding the scroll loosened its hold and the bit of paper fluttered onto the table. Harry was surprised by the shout that Mr. Weasley emitted as he rushed to tell his wife, who was feeling poorly and had stayed in bed, about the news he had received. Ginny picked up the paper from the table and read the words aloud to Harry and Hermione.

Mr. Arthur Weasley, The Burrow

Arthur,

Ron is currently in the Hogwarts infirmary, under the able care of Madam Pomfrey. Please come immediately.

Albus

They all travelled by Floo Powder because Ginny could not apparate yet and there were protective wards set around Hogwarts. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Bill hurriedly went inside the infirmary, accompanied by Professor Dumbledore and followed by Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Lord Flackenthorp and Manfred. Ron, who had been calmly eating a block of chocolate from Honeydukes, was cheerfully chatting with Charlie, Fred and George, who were sprawled in various chairs around the bed. Percy was sitting stiffly on his chair, looking for all the world like there was something stuck up his... Harry quashed the humorous thought and turned his snorting into little coughing noises. Hermione looked at him suspiciously as a few snorts escaped. 

Professor Lupin was seated a little apart, watchfully surveying the entire scene with his chin resting on steepled hands. "Watch the bruises," Ron exclaimed, as his mother tearfully hugged him. Mr. Weasley cleared his throat before diving in to hug him as well. Bill grinned. "Looks like we're having a little family reunion."

Harry stopped at the foot of the bed and, with a relieved grin splitting his face, said, "All right, Ron?"

"All right, Harry." The two friends grasped each other firmly in a double handclasp.

Hermione had to wait for her turn at Ron, as Ginny couldn't seem to let go of the brother with whom she quarrelled most frequently. Ron patted his sister's back awkwardly as he made a manly struggle not to cry out in pain. Finally, Ginny wiped the tears off her face and smiled with watery eyes as Hermione hugged Ron tightly as well. This time, Ron could not hold back a whimper of pain and bit out in irritation, 

"Hermione, I knew you liked me but this is ridiculous." She immediately let go of him, biting her bottom lip as she apologised with a tearful smile.

As everyone settled down in the infirmary on chairs, hospital beds, window ledges and whatever comfortable position they could get themselves in, Ron started telling his story. He had woken up in the middle of the night to find that Harry had left the room. He was rubbing sleep away from his eyes when hands from behind had covered his mouth with a foul-smelling rag, making him black out. 

When he had awoken, he found that he had been carried near the Forbidden Forest and had lain quietly as his kidnappers discussed in a group a few meters away if they should start using spells so that they could move faster. He saw the man formerly known as Scabbers walking toward the them and decided to make a run for it, which surprised the men in hooded cloaks. He dodged the spells they were casting by jumping behind trees as he ran. Wormtail shouted at them to stop, as they would alert the wards set up near Hogwarts. They fled in the opposite direction when they saw enchanted candles gradually lighting up the entire castle. Ron collapsed on the ground, barely reaching the battered Ford Anglia, where he crawled inside and promptly lost consciousness. It was daybreak when he awoke and started wandering in the direction of Hogwarts, where he was found by Professor Lupin, who was checking the grounds for magical signatures from the spells cast by Ron's kidnappers.

At this point, Professor Lupin took up the thread of the tale. He had found magical signatures of spells that originated from Dark Magic and had just concluded that Death Eaters (everyone gasped at this) had been in the area when he noticed a figure in pyjamas (that were too short, though he refrained from mentioning this bit) staggering about in his direction. He immediately brought Ron to Madam Pomfrey, who checked him for any broken bones (there were none) and then cast a sleeping spell to let him rest. Ron still had bruises that he refused magical intervention for, insisting that he didn't need fussing over. 

Bill went out of the Infirmary while the others were asking questions. Hermione noticed that Ginny was looking expectantly at the door. She leaned over and asked, "Are we waiting for anyone else?"

Whispering, Ginny filled Hermione in. "Mum said that Bill is in love with someone named Max who we're supposed to be meeting today, since it's so rare that the whole family can get together. All this time, we thought that if any of the boys would be given a 'coming out' party, it would be Percy... until Penelope came along. Then again, they just broke up last Christmas --- as they do every year because Percy is such a miser and didn't want to give expensive presents --- so perhaps there's still a chance." At this thought, Ginny brightened up but sobered when she remembered who they were waiting for.

The door opened and Bill walked in... holding hands with a woman who was dressed up in a decidedly feminine dress trimmed with white lace, with her hair sleeked back in a bun and a pair of small oval gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She looked like she was holding back in embarrassment at Bill's affectionate grip over her hand. Hermione liked her on sight. Ginny gaped at the new arrival, until Hermione nudged her unobtrusively.

"Dad, Mum, I'd like you to meet Max... Professor Maxine Ascension. She's the new Ancient Runes teacher in Hogwarts."

Mrs. Weasley recovered her composure quickly and moved in to welcome the newcomer with much enthusiasm. "It's very nice to meet you, dear. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when Bill told us that we would be meeting 'Max' without further elaboration." She looked at Bill warningly.

Mr. Weasley gave Max a hug as well. "Welcome, welcome to our family," he said, and began introducing his brood. "That over there is Charlie, then Percy, the two who look alike are Fred and George, the one in the bed is Ron, and lastly, we have Ginny." They waved their hands as they were being introduced. "Harry and Hermione here are Ron's best friends. My great-uncle, Lord Richard Flackenthorp (who gave a courtly bow as he was mentioned by name) and his manservant, Manfred. I think you already know the others..." She nodded at this and smiled at them all.

"We met while I was on assignment in the Ireland," Bill said by way of explanation. 

Max spoke in a charming lilting accent. "I was doing some research on ancient artifacts... both Muggle and magical. It is one of my interests, though only indirectly related to the actual course I do teach. Bill needed some information that I could provide and... it went downhill from there." She grinned impishly at Bill.

Bill enfolded her in his arms, her back to his chest. She relaxed against him unconsciously as he rested his chin on top of her head. He grinned happily at the people around him, who looked like they were ready to pounce on him for his deception. 

"So... it looks like it's still Percy we'll be giving a 'coming out' party for," Ron's face cracked in a wide smile when he saw Percy scowl at him threateningly. "Just joking."

"Jokes are _always _half meant..." growled Percy as he advanced to the bed where Ron was. Ron became alarmed. His face immediately registered relief when he saw Madam Pomfrey enter the room to shoo away all the guests. 

"Everyone, out. Mr. Weasley ("Which one?" George cheerfully spoke up before being hushed by his mother) needs his rest." All of them leisurely walked towards the Great Hall where they were served some refreshments by eager house-elves, all the while chattering animatedly about the events that certainly made the day memorable.

School would be starting in a few days and Mrs. Weasley decided that Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione would be safer if they stayed behind while she, together with Manfred, would take care of packing their luggage to be sent to Hogwarts. Dumbledore warmly greeted Lord Flackenthorp, who it turned out, was a graduate of the school ("1938? That's _practically_ ancient!" exclaimed Ron privately to Harry and Hermione). 

School had opened, and the sorting ceremony had just been finished. At the start-of- year feast, Lord Flackenthorp was seated at the high table in a place of honour beside the teachers. Dumbledore cleared his throat and began speaking.

"I would like to say a few words of welcome to all the students." This was greeted by loud cheers, clapping and some table-thumping before the noise quieted down as Dumbledore raised a hand regally in the air. "I would also like to welcome Lord Richard Flackenthorp, who has graciously agreed to join us tonight." More enthusiastic clapping ensued.

"Lord Flackenthorp has indicated his desire to donate a substantial amount of money to provide for an award called The Flackenthorp Prize. This will be given periodically to deserving students who show exemplary behavior. The first ever awarding of this prize is a symbolic one, bestowed upon a person who is not only related to the benefactor, but has shown extreme courage for escaping Death Eaters... Ronald Weasley!" 

Ron's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he was hauled up by his fellow Gryffindors and pounded on the back as he went up to have his hand shaken by both Dumbledore and Lord Flackenthorp. A huge smile spread across his face, which was not even dimmed by Draco Malfoy's nasty whisper of "Nepotism!" and the booing noise made by some Slytherins.

In the days that followed, the school halls were buzzing with what had happened at the Weasleys'. Ron's story became exaggerated out of proportion by the school grapevine and he became famous for fighting off a horde of Death Eaters. Ron, embarrassed, halfheartedly tried to dispel the notions ("Who wants to be remembered for being stupid enough to be kidnapped in his pyjamas by Death Eaters?") but gave up after a while and began enjoying the adulation. Harry and Hermione let him enjoy all the attention, relieved to just have him alive and with them.

Harry, though content to be in the background, was worried. The message had not been lost on him: those near him were vulnerable. It alarmed him no end that his friends and loved ones were being punished just for being close to him.

Evidently, he was not the only one worried. Dumbledore called him into his office before noon, along with Ron and Hermione. "It seems that Voldemort is intensifying his attacks on you, Harry. What alarms me is that he has extended it to your friends as well."

Harry answered quietly. "It has me worried too, sir." 

"You're not alone, Harry," Ron placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed tightly. "In any case, we have Hermione here to put hex marks on whoever will come to harm you."

"Figures that _you_ would need a woman's skirts to hide behind," Hermione sniffed.

"You don't wear skirts, Hermione. You're too masculine for that."

"Just because you don't see me wear skirts, it doesn't mean I don't have any."

Harry looked at his two friends with a suppressed amusement upon realising that they were seeking to distract him from the seriousness of the situation. He shook his head warningly at them, which made them stop, and turned back to face the professor.

"Will this affect my activities, sir? Should I quit..."

"Of course not, Harry. To do so would arouse the suspicion of the Voldemort and intensify the Death Eaters attempts to permanently do away with you or to harm those around you. We need you out in the open, where anything that happens to you will not passed unnoticed. Just be extremely cautious. Never be alone. I will come up with other precautions and inform you what those are. 

"Besides, Professor McGonagall would most likely throw a fit if I were to remove the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain from the team."

The three had to stifle the images that came to their mind from this statement. Breaking out in howls of laughter in front of the school's Headmaster would never do. Although Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore would not actually mind.

************

Hermione ran headlong down the corridor going toward the Gryffindor dormitories, hair flying madly behind her, clutching her books to her chest. She choked out breathlessly, "Tail feathers!" to the Fat Lady, making the portrait swing open. Unceremoniously dumping her books on the couch in the common room, she turned to Dean, who was talking with Neville and asked, "Did you see Harry around?"

"Not really. He might be in the Great..."

Hermione whirled around and was out the portrait hole before Dean could finish what he was saying.

"...Hall."

Dean looked quizzically at Neville. "What was that about?" Neville shrugged his shoulders and the two resumed their original discussion.

Hermione burst in through the doors of the Great Hall, startling a few students who were eating some snacks. She hurriedly located Harry, who was with Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw, and Susan Bones from Hufflepuff, eating some ham sandwiches and scones with jam and cream.

"Excuse us," she said while grasping Harry by the arm and dragging him to the broom cupboard. Terry and Susan exchanged knowing looks.

"And they say they're only friends..." Terry trailed off suggestively. Susan just giggled and continued to eat a scone.

Hermione whispered, "Lumos" and the tip of her wand glowed, lighting up the inside of the cupboard. Harry sat on an upturned bucket and crossed his arms on his chest. Hermione paced the small area of the closet, looking like she was going to burst with her news at any minute. He got dizzy from watching her walk back and forth and finally pulled her down to sit beside him. She was shaking in excitement. He hugged her to his side with an arm until she calmed down enough to speak.

"Harry, you'll never believe this... Professor Ascension started off the class by talking all about legends in the history of Runes --- I presume it was a prelude to our actual lessons in Ancient Runes --- and she looked at me when she mentioned a legend about a place named Cantoris. She said that the legend involved seeking the fulfillment of one's destiny... and I thought about you. Since Voldemort is still out there and growing more powerful everyday, maybe we can find out how you can destroy him... for good this time," she ended breathlessly.

"I can hardly bring myself to believe in destiny after all the readings Professor Trelawney gave predicting my death," Harry pointed out dryly.

"Believe me, Professor Trelawney is not even in the same league as Professor Ascension, " Hermione assured him earnestly. She threw her arms around him and accidentally let go of her wand, unable to contain her glee and he automatically put his arms up to respond when the closet door opened and Draco Malfoy stood there, along with Ron and a gaggle of students ogling the sight that greeted their eyes. They parted unhurriedly, trying to look as dignified as possible when one has been caught doing hard-to-explain things in a broom closet. 

Hermione picked up her wand and stuffed it in the pocket of her robe. She put her hands on her hips, tilted her head and angrily said, "Just what do you think you were doing, Malfoy?"

"I'm saving you from yourself, Granger," Draco sneered. "Just what do you think McGonagall would think when the news reaches her about her precious _ head girl _ snogging in the broom closet with the Quidditch Captain?"

"She'd probably knock off points from the house of her precious _head boy_ who went around jumping to conclusions, sticking his nose in places where it shouldn't be," she retorted. "Harry and I are just friends."

A groan arose from the crowd as Ron went around collecting money from people, grinning from ear to ear. Hermione was shocked.

"Ron, have you been making bets?"

"Nope. Just taking them," he smirked unrepentantly.

"If the teachers only knew what you were doing... you'd have that prefect's badge stripped off faster than you can say 'Hey!' "

Ron covered his prefect's badge protectively. His mother had been extremely proud that he had followed in the footsteps of his older brothers, though it had been uncertain at the start.

"What were the bets on?" asked Harry interestedly as Hermione slapped him on the arm. "Ouch," he said, rubbing the area that she hit. "I was only asking."

"I told them that when you went out of the closet, one of you will say that you're just friends. You should have heard the gossiping when you went out of the Great Hall together."

"It always happens anyway when only one of us is with Hermione," Harry noted.

"Keep this up and I can probably buy a new broomstick before the Halloween feast," Ron practically drooled at the thought.

"That's not nice, Ron," said Ginny as she walked up to them with Colin Creevey by her side, his camera, no longer a Muggle model, looped around his neck. He took a shot of Ginny and she automatically smiled as the flash bulb went off. Harry was relieved --- it seemed that Colin's hero-worship had transferred to Ginny. Then the camera was suddenly aimed at him and he was blinded by the sudden flash of light.

Then again, maybe not.

************

Dinner was a noisy affair with everyone, it seemed, chattering at the top of their voices. Draco went over to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the murderous stares that emanated from several of them, and spoke to Hermione. 

"Granger, McGonagall scheduled an emergency meeting for us. Be at her office immediately after dinner."

"What? Got your lips unstuck from Snape's arse long enough to grace us with your presence?" Ron spoke up blandly.

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked insultingly at Ron from head to foot. 

"Sadly, Weasley, I just came over to comment on your stylish clothes. That's a good Rafe Laurent imitation... from about five seasons ago." 

Harry and Hermione visibly braced themselves to hold back Ron. Both of them exchanged surprised looks when the expression on Ron's face changed from fury to a sarcastic smirk. He seemed to have noticed the attention their little talk was gathering and remembered that he was a prefect now. Draco sauntered away, leaving Hermione to wonder at his message. 

Why are we having a emergency meeting? she thought puzzledly. Harry seemed to pick up her thoughts as he said, "Looks like something came up. Want us to come with you?" 

Ron added, "I don't like the idea of Malfoy in the same place with you. Even with McGonagall. A git is a git is a..." 

Hermione sighed. "We're head girl _and_ boy. You can't keep hanging around me, looking like a better version of Crabbe and Goyle." Harry and Ron protested loudly at this unfair comparison. "We have to meet weekly with Professor McGonagall, just as we have to meet weekly with the prefects." She looked pointedly at Ron, who adopted an air of injured innocence. 

************ 

Hermione was walking along the grounds just outside the castle, mulling over the reason for the emergency meeting. A nice, long walk always helped to clear her mind after eating and she needed all the advantages in her first meeting with McGonagall and... ugh... Malfoy. She sighed loudly as she wondered just how Malfoy had gotten the position. Sure, he also had top marks in his classes but... a Slytherin? She shook her head in disbelief, not noticing a shadow creeping from behind her as she headed back to the castle. 

Thanks to all those who reviewed Chapter 2:

HarryNZ (Harry!), Unregistered (without doubt, the most popular reviewer on the boards), E.C.R. Potter (Eric!), Opaleye, Oracle, Lady Attolia (Attolia!), SirLoyne (Steve!), mia fitzpatrick (Mia!), Erin, Marpessa (Esha!), Lily Vance, nappa (!), Ayla Pascal, calicutie11 (Carla!), Cadey(!), Smilie117 (Sabs!), Clepsydra Delphinus (Cle!), sugarkube and miuccia. Thanks, you guys are fantastic!

End of Chapter


	4. In The Looking Glass, Darkly

Harry Potter and the Cantoris Quest (4/?)   
  
Author: Anya   
Author email: anya@schnoogle.com  
Category: Humor, romance, mystery, adventure, drama  
Keywords: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ron  
Spoilers: For all the books, just to be safe :D  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: The beginning of the end. Harry faces off with the coming darkness in his seventh year. Contains H/Hr, unforeseen circumstances, a lost heirloom --- and the quest to find Cantoris. A take on the last book in canon. 

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. Song fragment is from _Hanging By A Moment _by Lifehouse. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary. 

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy reading this and future chapters... it's been percolating a long time in my brain and just boiled over :p

This goes to my really great beta-readers: ** Steve, Sabs **and **Cle**. 

Chapter 4: In the Looking Glass, Darkly
    
    _Desperate for changing_
    
    _Starving for truth_
    
    _I'm closer to where I started_
    
    _I'm chasing after you_
    
    _
    I'm falling even more in love with you_
    
    _Letting go of all I've held on to_
    
    _I'm standing here until you make me move_
    
    _I'm hanging by a moment here with you_
    
    _
    I'm living for the only thing I know_
    
    _I'm running and I question where to go_
    
    _And I don't know what I'm tapping into_
    
    _Just hanging by a moment here with you_

Hermione started heading back towards the castle, not noticing a shadow moving behind her. She was startled out of her wits when a finger tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around, an expectant look on her face, only to find that Draco was behind her. "Oh, it's you," she shrugged, turning back in the direction she was headed. 

"Hurry up, or we'll be late for the meeting with Professor McGonagall," she said, breaking into a run. She was nearing the castle doors when she suddenly stopped short. Draco was standing in the archway of the doors leading inside the castle. 

Hermione was stunned. Something peculiar had just happened. She turned, mouth opened in a soft 'O' of wonder, half expecting to see someone else behind her but no one was there. She whipped out her wand and shouted to Draco, "I'll be back, see you at Professor McGonagall's office," before retracing her steps towards the lake in a hurry.

"Lumos," she whispered softly. The tip of her wand glowed in the darkness, and she saw the figure of a man staring at the lake, his back turned to her. His pale blonde head reflected the light from her wand. She cleared her throat slightly and asked, "Who are you?"

The man turned towards her and she could not hold back a gasp. It was Draco.

************

Back at the castle, Draco was surprised to see Hermione spin around to go back in the direction of the lake. He shrugged arrogantly and thought of the scolding that _that_ 'mudblood' would get once she arrived late for their meeting with the deputy headmistress. He grinned. She might even lose fifty points for her house. He was about to close the heavy double doors when he heard a sound cut off in mid-shriek. He paused, thought curiously --- that sounded like Granger --- and hurriedly strode out of the castle in the direction of the noise. 

What he saw alarmed him. Hermione was already waist deep into the lake and was walking further still whilst a man was standing on the shore with his arm raised languidly in the air, as if directing an orchestra. There was a wand in his hand and he was twirling it lazily about. Draco watched in morbid fascination as Hermione continued walking into the lake until the water lapped around her neck. When her head disappeared beneath the waters, he was galvanised into action. He sprinted towards the man, who was still facing in the direction of the lake, unaware of the person behind him, and tackled him by the waist. Caught by surprise, the man fell and hit his head hard on the ground. Draco found himself looking into the other man's unconscious face. He was stunned. It was like looking into a mirror. Except that the other man's face was starting to show some changes. Changes he could not afford to wait for.

He whipped his head about in the direction of the lake and noticed that Hermione had not surfaced at all. He ran, stripping off his robe and undershirt and dove into the waters to look for her. The waters were dark and it seemed as if he would not be able to find her in time. He thrashed about blindly with his arms in front of him, then decided to go nearer the shore. His head broke the surface and he harshly gasped in some air before going underneath again. His arms cleaved powerfully through the water, trying to negotiate his way around. There she was, standing as still as a statue, just a few inches under the water. He seized her by the waist and started pulling her towards the shore. He half-dragged, half-carried her and laid her on the grass. Thoughts were careening uncontrollably in his head as he noted her pale face. He put his ear close to her nose and mouth in a panic. It seemed that she was not breathing. He grabbed his robe and searched his pocket frantically for his wand, which he used to end whatever spell the other Draco had placed on Hermione. As he reached out to take hold of his robe and his shirt, he saw that the other man was gone.

The halls were empty as Draco carried Hermione in his arms, walking towards the hospital wing and dripping water in his wake. Madam Pomfrey prepared a bed in a hurry and started examining Hermione as soon as she was lain upon it. He stood back anxiously and watched as Madam Pomfrey treated her patient. He found himself being pushed on the next bed and examined as well. Madam Pomfrey gave him a potion, which he swallowed quickly, with a grimace at the revolting taste. Exhausted, he struggled feebly as sleep magically took over him with a few whispered words from Madame Pomfrey. She gave me a Sleeping Potion?! was his last, incredulous, thought.

Draco felt like he was drifting aimlessly about in a clear blue fluid. He could see an expanse of white at the top and he found himself floating upwards. Nearer and nearer, he gravitated towards it. The light stung the back of his eyelids, disorienting him, making him keep his eyes shut. The dizziness passed. He peered groggily out of one eye and saw that Hermione still unconscious in the next bed, surrounded by her friends. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were there as well, discussing softly in hushed tones. He quickly shut his eye again and feigned sleep as Ron looked suspiciously in his direction. Harry, his attention occupied by Hermione, did not turn at all. Draco sighed inwardly. Where the hell were Crabbe and Goyle? Probably stuffing their faces in the Great Hall.

He lay there quietly, thinking about the events of the previous night. Hermione had proven why the Sorting Hat had placed her in Gryffindor. He grudgingly admired her mettle. Although, he mused, one could always think of it as foolhardiness. He shifted suddenly and the action caught the eagle eyes of Madam Pomfrey, who quickly came over and gave him another dose of medicine. This time, however, he did not fall asleep. He sat up, swung his legs down the side of the bed and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is she alive?"

Ron slowly turned around. Much as he disliked the entire Malfoy family and Draco more than the rest, he could not ignore the fact that the other boy had just saved one of his best friends. A Muggle-born at that. Malfoy would not probably live that down. He grinned inwardly at the thought. He had been inclined to think that Draco had been the one who tried drowning Hermione in the first place but he and Harry had been set straight on that point by Madam Pomfrey ("One does not save someone one wants drowned, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter," she sniffed. "And you should have seen the exhausted state that boy was in. He almost dropped right here on this very floor."). He opened his mouth to speak but Harry beat him to the punch.

"She's still heavily sedated, but she'll be fine. Thanks to you."

Harry held out his hand towards Draco, whose eyebrows automatically rose but took the proffered hand guardedly and shook it. Ron followed suit, glad that Harry was the one who went first. He felt extremely awkward at having to thank a Malfoy for anything.

Harry turned back to Hermione's bedside and looked at the face of one of his dearest friends. The thought of almost losing her made him feel weak in the knees, and he decided to sit on the edge of her bed. He reached out, took her hand and curled his own with hers in it. He gave her a slight squeeze and was slightly disappointed not to feel a response in return. She was still out.

Professor Dumbledore spoke up while Professor McGonagall looked on. "We would like to hear the story from your point of view once you are well enough to do so. We have only what Madam Pomfrey has told us. Poppy?" he looked at her questioningly. She nodded her head and bustled over to Draco's bedside, checking him for any untoward effects of the events the night before. He suffered her ministrations impatiently, gritting out, "I'm fine" from between clenched teeth.

He told them of his experience with the other Draco. Dumbledore looked visibly perturbed by this, especially at the news that the other Draco was apparently the product of a polyjuice potion. 

"They are becoming bolder and bolder. Minerva, perhaps you could check on the magical wards set around Hogwarts. If the protective wards were not set off immediately following the spell on Miss Granger, there must have been a breach somewhere." Professor Dumbledore whispered something to Professor McGonagall and she immediately went off to procure help from the other faculty members. 

"In the meanwhile," Dumbledore said, sitting down as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, "I suggest that the two gentlemen here take a seat as I have something of importance to say to all of you. Draco, kindly do not get up," he said in a gruff aside to Draco, who was about to leave the bed. "Now that you have had an experience with those we presume to be Death Eaters, we need to safeguard that little bit of information. Whatever is discussed here should stay here." He inclined his head inquiringly at them and they all nodded in response, Draco a bit grudgingly. He was trying to seem as disinterested as possible, although the suspense was actually killing him.

Harry let out a yell and everyone looked at him in astonishment. He was surprised to feel Hermione's hand tightening under his as he had forgotten that he was still holding it. Dumbledore signalled to Madam Pomfrey, who immediately came over and checked Hermione. She struggled weakly to get up, using her grip on Harry's hand as leverage, only to be pushed down gently by Ron. She opened her eyes and looked at them. She was a little startled at seeing Draco in the next bed. "What happened? There were two of you..." she trailed off.

"Ah, Hermione," Dumbledore inclined his head towards her. "Do you feel well enough to tell us what happened from your point of view?"

"I saw two of him," she pointed to Draco, " and I'm not sure which one was which. I presume he's the real one..."

"I _am_ real." Draco said, a bit miffed by being referred to as if he were a non-entity. "And you might try for a little gratitude there," he tried saying 'mudblood' but found that he couldn't, "after all I did save your life."

Hermione's eyes reflected shock at this. She tried to speak but ended up gaping at him. Looking towards Harry and Ron for confirmation, she disbelievingly looked at Dumbledore after getting hesitant nods from the two. "What?!"

"It's true. He brought you in after you almost drowned." Ron grimaced. Hermione looked at him uncomprehendingly. 

Harry spoke up. "Might as well face it. You owe him one."

Hermione shifted her blank gaze towards Draco. Draco tried to look properly humble but failed. He grinned at her conceitedly. 

She looked at him in an speculative manner. "I'm surprised, Malfoy. It seems you were in the line for 'a shred of decency' after all. Whoever thought that a Malfoy would have rescued a 'mudblood'?"

Draco cocked an eyebrow and was about to retort back when Professor McGonagall swept back in and heard the tail-end of the conversation. She tilted her head sternly towards Hermione and replied to her query, "There _is_ a reason that Draco was selected as Head Boy. There are some things toward which our personal biases blind us and though Draco has made no pretensions about his," she fixed her steely gaze upon Draco, "it does not make him any less of a human being. Thus, he has enough common sense not to let someone else drown in front of him. I myself place no importance upon the so-called purity of blood, and it is gratifying to see that he rose above his personal biases."

I will not blush. I will not blush. Draco willed himself not to react but could not help feeling some warmth creeping across his cheeks. He stole a glance at Hermione, who looked properly chastised and was stealing a glimpse at him. They both looked away, embarrassed at being caught.

The door opened again and Professor Ascension came in. She was carrying a heavy tome which looked quite ancient as it was falling apart at the seams. She laid it carefully on her lap and sat down on a chair beside Professor Dumbledore, folding her hands calmly on top of the book. Looking up at Professor McGonagall, she waited until she was given the signal to speak.

"Harry, I need to tell you about something very important. I have a feeling you might have an idea about this already," she smiled at Hermione, "and whereas we had the leisure of time before, the urgency of the matter now dictates otherwise." 

Ron was looking pointedly at his friends' hands, which were still clasped together. He cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows and said, "Now, now, is there something you're both not telling me? I hope I'm not about to lose the next bet I've got going." 

Harry and Hermione let go of each other's hands self-consciously. Harry walked towards Professor Ascension, who stood up and led the way outside the infirmary. Professor Dumbledore and Harry followed in her wake. Harry lifted a hand in farewell to his friends and the door shut close behind him. Hermione felt a little forlorn when he left. She grew a little uncomfortable at the feeling and turned to Ron, who was speaking with Professor McGonagall. 

"Hermione (Ron jerked his thumb in her direction) would be really mad to find that she missed a ton of schoolwork," he grinned. She scowled at him and he grinned at her impudently. He bent down and took a a rolled up section of parchment from his bag and dumped it unceremoniously on her lap. She took it, touched by his thoughtfulness --- until she saw the squiggles on the paper.

"Ron, would I need a decoding spell for this? I can't seem to make heads or tails of it."

"You're holding it upside down. Here, let me adjust it."

"Not that it makes any difference. I still can't understand it."

"Do you want it or don't you?" He tried to snatch up the parchment but she hid it under her blanket. He raised an eyebrow at this and told her, "Don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm a gentleman. I can easily flip aside your blanket, sickbed or not."

She just looked at him calmly and tried unsuccessfully to fight back a grin.

Ron looked as if he was about to make good on his threat but chickened out at the last moment. He turned to Draco instead, who was watching them with a smirk.

"Malfoy, keep your thoughts to yourself. It's written all over your face and frankly, I'm not in the mood to hear any of your crap."

Draco spread his hands expansively and shrugged his shoulders diffidently. He glanced at Professor McGonagall, who was talking with Madam Pomfrey, before goading Ron by saying in an aside, "Don't let me stop you from flipping aside Granger's blanket --- I'm interested to see what's underneath them myself."

"Do it yourself, you old lech." Ron shot back at him.

Hermione glared balefully at Draco. "I am _not_ hearing anything. Hero or not, this conversation is over." She glared at him one last time for good measure before lying down and wriggling under the covers. 

Ron sighed. "Women." He and Draco exchanged a look of agreement before remembering that they were supposed to be adversaries. They turned back to Hermione, who was faking a yawn. Ron ruffled Hermione's hair before spinning around on his heel to leave for his classes. He picked up his bag and sauntered off.

Hermione looked irritated. "He _knows_ I hate having my hair messed up more than it is." She looked over at Draco, who had reclined in his bed and was pretending to be asleep.

"Mal-, er, Draco. Thanks for saving my life." She hurriedly turned away from him and missed the smile stealing slowly across his face.

************

Professor Dumbledore ushered Professor Ascension and Harry into his office. Fawkes was on his perch, calmly swishing his tail feathers as he took note of the visitors. Max Ascension looked as though she was holding the ancient book in utmost reverence. Harry waited for her to sit down before selecting an available seat. He held himself in check, although he was dying to ask about what she told him earlier. Max smiled at him in assurance. Dumbledore looked at the young professor and motioned for her to start. 

"What I have here is a very old book that I retrieved from a magical Irish forest ring. It is encased in an old binding made of clover leather, a curiosity in itself. It's not something that you can purchase anywhere --- the binding is made of an especially tooled leather made very thin through an unknown process. It is so thin that light can shine through it. On its cover is an interlocking design reminiscent of a clover leaf, hence its name. 

"I stumbled unto it by accident. I was in Ireland to look for a certain runic artifact when I heard of an old myth about a faerie who possessed a book on a particular Celtic legend of destiny fulfilment. I am of the opinion that all myths and fairytales have a basis in truth and so I started looking for clues about it. It was said that she hid it within plain sight, in a place where it would belong. It took me a month to realise that I should start looking in forests and another month to realise which forest was the right one. By then, I had met Bill...and I don't believe in coincidence," her startlingly blue eyes gazed levelly at Harry. "I believe that all things happen because they were meant to be. I had been offered a teaching position here. Bill mentioned that you were a friend of his brother, Ron. And I know of your history with Voldemort. Everything was falling into place --- at least to my way of thinking. I believe that this book can help you." She quietly handed the heavy-looking manuscript to Harry.

Harry was taken aback. He had noticed that she mentioned Voldemort without any superstitious hesitancy. And the book was surprisingly lighter than it looked. Professor Ascension smiled upon seeing his astonishment. 

"It's something enchanted. Things are not always what they seem," she said cryptically.

Dumbledore signaled to Harry that he should put the book down on the desk. As soon as Harry did so, Dumbledore passed his wand over it, muttering under his breath as he checked the book for any black magic that might be associated with it. Nothing untoward occurred and he gave the book back to Harry. 

"Just a precaution. It is always advisable to be cautious, especially with enchanted objects. Who knows, perhaps that could have turned you into a frog...which means you would have had to look for a princess to kiss you." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled.

Harry smiled back at him, thinking it would be a long time before he would have changed back into human form if that had happened.

"I will be around to help you with that. But it might help if you took a look at it yourself. I have marked the page on which the word 'Cantoris' first appears. It seems to be a place of some sort, unreachable except in the landscape of dreams, although I could be mistaken. There are references to it throughout the whole book and you might want to ask Hermione's help on it. She seems to be quite a frequent visitor to the library." Max smiled at the understatement.

"Your next class will start in a little while, Harry. You might want to hurry and put that in your dormitory first," Dumbledore said.

Harry murmured his gratitude and walked backwards until he reached the door. He almost flew down the stairs in a lightheaded rush. He ran towards Gryffindor tower, whispered the most recent password to the Fat Lady ("Fiddlesticks!") and took the steps two-by-two until he reached his dormitory. Rummaging in the chest at the foot of his bed, he carefully hid the book in an old shirt before carefully placing it on the ledge underneath his bed. He doubted that anyone else knew this hiding place, which made him feel it would be safe to keep the book there.

************

Ron and Harry trudged inside the castle doors after a gruelling Quidditch practice. Upon reaching their dormitory, Ron wearily stripped off his shirt and told Harry, "When is the first practice match again? Is it a week away or a month away? I hope it's still a month away because we stink."

"It's next week, Ron."

Ron groaned at the reply. They both changed hurriedly since they were late for dinner. All the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been asked by Harry to stay late on the field until they could no longer see the quaffle in the gloaming and the players had been hit repeatedly by the bludgers. Colin protested that Ginny had already been hit by a bludger twice and he threatened to report their abusive practice sessions in the school paper (of which he was the photography editor). Harry had privately told Ron that it seemed Colin was developing an intense infatuation with the paper's star reporter. Ron snorted that he already knew that when Colin started taking more pictures of Ginny than of Harry during their practices. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you," Ron said with a grin. "As Ginny's fellow beater, I get to appear often in the 'OwlPost' as well."

Harry grinned inwardly at the thought. At least Ron was becoming rather well-known on his own, not just as Harry's friend. It went a long way towards boosting his friend's self-esteem that he became quite famous after his narrow escape from the Death Eaters and winning a prize for it. Ron had bought new school materials such as dress robes, books and a cauldron as soon as he could. No more hand-me-downs for him. He had a lifetime's worth of experience with that and it was enough.

They entered the Great Hall and hurriedly settled into their seats. Harry was happy to note that Hermione was looking quite well, happily scooping some shepherd's pie with her fork while chatting with Lavender. He decided to tease her a bit by holding her fork down just as she was about to put it to her lips. She unconsciously followed the fork with her mouth before her mind registered the trick Harry had just played on her. 

"Harry Potter!" she said warningly. He let go of her hand and smiled appealingly at her. She shook her head resignedly and faced the fork toward him in resignation. "Shepherd's pie?"

"Don't mind if I do." Instead of helping himself to a serving from a plate on the table, Harry bent down to eat what was on the proffered utensil. Hermione was a bit taken aback by his playfulness but decided not to react. She scooped up some creamed peas on her fork and resumed eating.

Parvati looked at Harry in shock and began to whisper excitedly to Lavender. Hermione looked at them and frowned. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Parvati propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her right fist. She asked hopefully, "Oh! Cute! Are the two of you going out or something?"

Both Harry and Hermione wore identical startled looks on their faces. "Well, no," Hermione said, using her napkin to wipe her lips. "We're only friends."

Seamus and a few others around the Gryffindor table groaned. Ron stood up, collecting money from various people.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione was scandalised.

Harry just looked at his other best friend and almost choked at the gleeful expression on Ron's face.

"What did you bet on this time, Ron?" Harry looked at his friend with mock-seriousness. 

"Oh, just something to do with a 'friends only' theme." Ron waved his hands about vaguely in the air.

Hermione said, "Why do I feel like a lab rat?"

"What's that?" asked Ron interestedly as he shoved a fistful of money in his pocket.

"Never mind." Hermione rolled her eyes.

Hermione glanced over at the Slytherin table and found Draco looking a little pensive. She caught his attention with a small waving gesture and mimed a signal that meant they were to meet outside. Draco gave a slight nod and resumed eating. Hermione turned back to her table and noticed a few of them looking at her curiously. She shrugged gracefully and said, "We are supposed to meet Professor McGonagall after eating. He insisted on making sure we went together so that we'd both be safe."

Harry asked, "Do you need more companions? There's safety in numbers." Ron nodded worriedly in agreement.

"I'm going to be okay. But thanks for the offer." Hermione smiled at them reassuringly.

Hermione went out of the Great Hall to find Draco leaning nonchalantly against the wall beside the doors, blond hair glinting in the light from the torches lined up in the hallway. They walked together in silence until they reached Professor McGonagall's office. Draco rapped on the door and they heard a voice inviting them to enter. They went inside and Hermione closed the door softly behind her.

Professor McGonagall gestured them into the chairs in front of her desk. As they sat down, she offered them some tea, which they declined politely. Professor McGonagall paused to remove her spectacles and rub her eyelids wearily. She replaced her glasses on the bridge of her nose and started speaking.

"I am quite apologetic about what caused the postponement of our first meeting. As it is, what we are about to discuss is a bit stale. Essentially, the prefects are to be briefed that all students should be assigned their own partners. No one should go about Hogwarts alone, especially when one is outside of the castle. It is regrettable that measures like this have to be enforced but the necessity for this has been underscored in the light of your own personal experiences.

"These are dangerous times and we would do well to observe a few precautions."

Hermione felt a cold coil of fear writhing in her stomach. She glanced at Draco, who had also turned to look solemnly at her. They both returned their gazes towards Professor McGonagall, who looked at them with her chin resting on steepled fingers. She spoke, "I expect you to hold the prefects' meeting as soon as possible. Time is running short for all of us here."

************

Harry was tossing and turning about in his sleep. He dreamt of chasing a golden leprechaun with a hollow stomach, who was laughing at him as it scampered away. He had the vague idea that he needed to open the leprechaun up and get something from him. He ran after the leprechaun, who abruptly turned into a clover leaf and fell on the forest floor. Harry slowed his pace down to a walk, going towards the general direction where the leaf landed when he suddenly found himself dropping into a hole. He clawed the empty air in a panic as he fell in a dark, endless chasm. 

Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 3:

**calicutie11 (Carla!)** - where did you hear that 'I-wanna-make-a-child-with-you' thing about Bill? *lol*; **HarryNZ (Harry!)** - thanks for going over this in ff.n, you're such a sweetie; **E.C.R. Potter (Eric!)** - arigato gozaimasu; ** Clepsydra Delphinus (Cle!)** - no-don't-kill-yourself-I-still-need-you *lol*; **Granger (Alison!)** - good thing you were able to catch up :D; **Circe** - that was a really thoughtful gesture and I really appreciated it *glomps **Circe***; **little*** - running away from the basilisk, are we? *g*; **Koriander (Korine!) **- yup, that was fun to write; **erin** - Harry + Hermione + broom closet = enormous possibilities; ** mia fitzpatrick (Mia!) **- only sorta, kinda _ like_ him? You liar, you. Admit it, you're Draco-crazy *snerk*; ** Lily Vance** - how's the jazz and java going?; ** SirLoyne (Steve!)** - you make me laugh, you lovely, lovely person; **Cadey(!) **- hope you were able to use what I gave you; **wild prefect** - all in good time *g*; **Tamz** - yes, they do need a room, don't they *g*; and ** Smilie117 (Sabs!) **- that was a whole lot of shocked smileys :D Thanks for being such a great friend.

End of Chapter


	5. In The Dreaming

Chapter 5: In The Dreaming

_I'll be your crying shoulder_

_I'll be love suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

Harry felt himself falling weightlessly through the air, as if slow motion. He was experiencing a wonderful sensation of buoyancy and there seemed to be no end to the dark, vertical tunnel. He tried experimentally to shift his weight and almost banged his head because of the speed with which he turned around. 

It seemed that he was moving slowly through the tunnel but when it came to moving any single part of his body, the response was infinitely faster than normal.

He gulped hard. Twice.

He went back to being limp and soon, his feet gently touched the ground. Or whatever it was that seemed to bounce him back a little up in the air. It was like trying to walk on the surface of a gelatine mould.

To his surprise, little flames lit suddenly all around him, illuminating the immediate area. He tried looking upwards but there was a gaping nothingness. He looked down hurriedly and turned his gaze around instead. 

The walls were the colour of loam, like the beach after a heavy rainfall. It seemed to shift around and looked different with each view. He rubbed his eyes and looked again in awe. There was an opening to the side. He debated with himself whether he should go there or not. As if he had a choice, he thought. Besides, the golden leprechaun was gone.

He began a shuffling kind of walk, adjusting his stride until he felt comfortable walking on the bouncy terrain. To speed up, he did a kind of hop-slide walk until he got to the hole in the side. It looked like a cave, and the end could not be seen. 

He wondered how he would travel inside when some flames magically appeared in a row, one by one, on the wall of the opening. Here, the floor was a bit more sturdy. He walked in cautiously, looking at the flames as they appeared where he was and disappeared after he had passed by. He stopped experimentally and the flames did not go on. It seemed that they waited for him before appearing.

As he resumed walking, the ground suddenly seemed to shift vertically --- fast. He tried to hold on to the walls but only succeeded in scraping his fingernails over them. He slid downwards, gaining speed, until he saw a small pinprick of light ahead of him. It grew bigger and bigger until he realised it was an opening and he had shot through it.

Harry landed on some soft ferns, a cluster of which seemed to have been there for breaking someone's fall. As he wondered about this, he looked around and saw that he was in some kind of surreal paradise. The colours of everything around him seemed so vividly bright, it almost hurt to look at them. He rubbed his eyes and he suddenly noticed a womanly figure in front of him. He almost backed away fast until he realised he was still on his arse.

He stood up, dusted his bottom and faced the woman, who smiled at him. He felt his jaw go slack before catching himself. She had hair which looked like it was spun out of black silk, her eyes were of raven hue and she had pale skin which served to emphasise the redness of her lips. She beckoned to him and he followed, as if in a trance.

Perhaps he _was_ in a trance.

She had a lovely walk; her hips were swaying gently as she moved in front of him. He thought of other things to distract himself, like --- where in the world was he? He thought of Ron ("He'd probably enjoy this") and Hermione ("She'd probably be frantically trying to figure out what was happening"). He started looking at the scenery around him and was startled to find himself in a forest glade. He could hear the bubbly sound of a brook nearby, the birds chattering about the food they fed their young, and the rabbits hopping about, making noises about the cabbage patch over the dell...whoa.

He actually understood what they were talking about? First snakes, now this?

A fluffy little bunny hopped its way to him and he stopped, waiting for it to come closer. His guide paused as well, seemingly aware of everything that he thought and did.

The bunny sniffed him and smiled, baring its front teeth. It looked almost like Thumper in that old Disney film ("That's all right, he can call me a flower if he wants to") in this setting. The bunny looked at him and cocked its head sideways. 

"You're looking for something. Have you found it yet?" He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the little bunny speak. "Love is not blind, you know. It has eyes to see that which others cannot see." 

As he shook his head in disbelief, the bunny hopped away. He could have sworn it was humming song by an Irish Muggle band, 

"I would runaway...I would runaway, with you...And I've fallen in love with you...I'm never gonna stop falling in love with you..." 

At least he had thought it was a Muggle band. Maybe it wasn't. 

He saw the lady smile at him and he felt himself blushing. What a fool he must seem. The lady shook her head and her hair rippled in waves. Was she able to read his thoughts? He stared at her hair in fascination before realising that she had resumed walking. He followed her, determined not to let himself become distracted by the seeming oddities in the place. Odd, perhaps, but only to him.

Finally, Harry saw a cottage in the distance. But as they drew nearer, he realised that it wasn't really a cottage. It seemed to shift its shape every few minutes and from that point on, he stopped trying to rationalise and explain everything. Apparently, he was in a place where reason and logic didn't seem to apply.

They entered the cottage and he saw stacks upon stacks of spools filled with spun wool. There were so many that it was a wonder they could still fit inside the room. Still, the room was not cramped; it gave the impression of having unlimited space.

He shifted his gaze and saw two women inside. There was an plump, middle-aged lady who had big blonde hair, teased to within an inch of its life with the ends gathered up in a bun. She was placidly spinning some wool around a spool. Seated beside her was an old, weathered crone, who looked as though she were grey all over. She was squinting one eye while holding the thread from a spool in one hand and a large pair of shears in the other.

They seemed familiar to him but he could not quite place where and how he knew them.

The beautiful lady turned to look at him and said in a musical voice, "We knew you would come. I am Lucky, she is Chloe," she said, pointing to the spinner and then to the one holding the shears, "and she is Arty." The spinner and the cutter looked up from their work and smiled at him.

The spinner said pleasantly, "Oh, the nicknames you come up for us, Lachesis." She smiled fondly. "I am Clotho." 

The monochromatic figure beside her waved around the hand holding the shears before croaking out, "Atropos here."

"Yes, but it seems very old-fashioned if we called ourselves that. It is the twenty-first century, after all." The lady chided her companions.

"And we wouldn't want to scare off this nice, young man. It's been a long time since we've had visitors, since that sun-god from an alternate universe came to find out something or another --- I can't remember now." The crone smiled and Harry thought he had never seen so many wrinkles on just one face. He automatically smiled back and the old woman positively beamed.

The lady picked up the measuring tape on top of the table beside the spinner. She started measuring and re-measuring the thread in the spool used by the spinner before transferring them to another spool. 

The spinner stopped what she was doing and looked penetratingly at Harry. "Do you have any questions for us? You can only ask each of us once and the answers might not be as you expect them to be."

Harry was nonplussed. He opened his mouth and closed it again. He did not know what he was expected to do. He felt extremely foolish and wished that Hermione was there. She would surely know what to ask.

The lady looked at him and laughed, a lovely tinkling sound. "Why, I do believe that he has no idea why he's here. Perhaps he ought go back first and think about the questions he needs to ask."

The spinner shook her head wisely. "I agree. A word of caution though, young man. The way that has been used cannot be used anymore." Harry was confused by the cryptic message. Hermione...she could have helped him figure that out.

The old crone cocked her head in agreement. "So much for the first visitor we've had in centuries." She stood up and came to his side. He took a step back in reaction, alarmed that she still had a pair of shears in one hand. 

The old woman noted the direction of his gaze and cackled. "Oops." 

She pocketed the shears and suddenly took him by the arms, shaking him powerfully. All the things in the room began to spin around and he felt himself becoming limp...

************

He woke up to see Ron's anxious face looming over him. "Harry, what's the matter with you?"

Ron had been trying to shake Harry awake for nearly ten minutes and it scared him that Harry, who usually woke up ahead of him, was still out cold. Harry finally stirred.

Relieved, Ron gave a cocky grin. "Hah, for once, I'm up and about while you're still flat on your back. And did I hear you say Hermione's name?" he said incredulously. "Don't tell me you were having a nightmare about her --- although, that is entirely possible. Or is there something you're not telling me..." he trailed off suspiciously.

Harry felt himself blush and Ron looked at him in horror. "Don't tell me...why, you never even gave a hint..."

Harry diverted the attention from himself. "Ron, I just had the weirdest dream and here you are, getting all riled up because you thought it was about Hermione? What if I told you that it was all about this older woman who's as sexy as Ysabel Fey?" he said, mentioning the hot witch who was currently featured on the cover of the recent Wizards' Quarterly.

Ron was not so easily diverted. Almost. He looked appraisingly at Harry before deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Okay, so what was it about?"

Harry told Ron hurriedly about his strange dream whilst preparing for their first class. On the way out of the common room, they met up with Hermione and Ron quirked an eyebrow at Harry behind her back. Harry gave a shrug before turning to Hermione. "I need to ask you about that old book Professor Ascension gave me..."

Hermione looked at him with a furrowed brow. "What about it, Harry? I've been wondering when we could talk about it because Professor McGonagall has been quite worried about the Death Eaters. They've been stepping up on their attacks. Did you hear about the trouble that happened at the Three Broomsticks last night?"

Alarmed, Harry and Ron stopped in their tracks. Ron asked, "No, we haven't. What was it about?"

"Two men in dark cloaks went into the inn at almost midnight and started casting spells over the men who were having a few butterbeers. They made the men thrash the whole place. Madam Rosmerta had to be given a potion to calm her down. The people at Hogsmeade were scared out of their wits but they helped to put the place to rights. The halls have been buzzing with the news."

Ron and Harry looked at each other in alarm. Things were starting to move very fast and they had to keep on top of things.

"Ron," Hermione said, "the prefects will have a meeting tonight at half past eight. Please go straight to the Prefects' Meeting Room after supper."

Ron gave a nod and turned to Harry. "Can you go ahead to class? I've got to find Ginny and make sure she's safe."

Harry nodded and watched as Ron ran back in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower.

He turned back to see Hermione looking at him worriedly. "Seamus told me that you had a nightmare. Care to tell me what it was all about?"

Harry felt a sense of relief that she brought it up. He had been thinking about his dream as well but did not know how to broach the subject. He took a deep breath and started pouring out the more worrying aspects of his dream, the parts which he left out so as not to alarm Ron. They were almost late to class --- thank goodness it was not potions.

The others looked up from their books as Harry and Hermione came in. Neville looked at them and started whispering to Parvati, who in turn, whispered to Lavender. They all grinned goofily as Hermione and Harry sat in the adjacent table.

Lavender propped her chin against one hand and asked, "So, where's Ron?"

Hermione looked at her in puzzlement. "I don't know. Am I supposed to know where he is?"

Parvati, Neville and Lavender exchanged looks mysteriously before Professor Binns started his favourite lecture on goblin uprisings in the 1600's. Harry was almost in a stupor when he was awakened by Ron, who was sliding on the bench beside him, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Professor Binns did not notice him at all but Malfoy smirked in his direction. Ron debated momentarily with himself against sticking out his tongue immaturely but eventually gave in. Hermione saw him and frowned. She scribbled a note and passed it to Harry, who passed it to Ron.

Ron unfolded the note and almost shouted out loud. He scribbled furiously on the note instead, ending it with a flourish.

Harry passed it back to Hermione, who read it and wrote in reply before passing it again to Harry, who gave it to Ron. Ron wore a look of outrage on his face then wrote on the parchment, making sure to cover all the remaining space. Harry passed it back to Hermione and read the note over her shoulder. It said:

Ron, minus 5 points to Gryffindor. YOU are a prefect, act like one.

How come Malfoy gets off without losing any points?

What exactly did he do, pray tell?

He LOOKED at me.

Harry almost laughed when he saw Hermione squeeze in a small sentence.

Ron, you idiot. I can't strip points off him if he only looked at you.

Harry passed the note back to Ron, who read it in disgust. He angrily stuffed it into his bag and sat there, steaming. As soon as class was over, he stormed outside the classroom. Harry and Hermione had to run to catch up with him. 

"Ron..." Hermione started. 

Ron whirled around and exploded, "That was unfair!" 

"What?! Let me see...you wanted me to strip points off Draco just because he looked at you? You stuck your tongue out at him! Wasn't that very childish of you?"

"So now it's _Draco_, isn't it? Don't tell me he's your new best friend."

Hermione's face coloured in anger. She bit out, "Don't you think that if someone saved your life, it would be strange not to be on first name basis thereafter? How dare you."

Hermione turned in the opposite direction and began running to the North Tower, where their next class was. Ron, his anger spent, gave a huge sigh. He felt a twinge of shame but thought resolutely of the way Draco had smirked at him and felt very put out.

Harry was at a loss whether to stay with Ron or go after Hermione. He compromised by speeding up his walk. They had almost reached Hermione when he saw her brush away something from her cheek as she sped up even more to avoid them.

After the rest of the classes were over for the day, Harry mumbled an excuse to Ron about needing to consult Hermione about their Charms assignment for tomorrow ("We have an assignment in Charms?! How much feet was it supposed to be? Pah, what a time for Hermione to be in a huff with me! Tell me what she tells you, okay?") before rushing off in the direction of the library, where Hermione was sure to be when she wasn't spending the breaks in between classes with them.

He was puzzled not to find her at her regular spot, which was the table nearest to the library shelves. Deciding to scout around, he went through all of the shelves before finding her, naturally, in the very last place where he thought to look: at the end. In the tiny space between the last bookshelf and the grills of the restricted section was Hermione, sobbing her heart out.

Harry sat carefully beside her, gingerly fitting himself in the cramped space. His shoulder touched Hermione's and she gave a start upon seeing who it was. Her face was blotchy with tears and the sight tugged at his heartstrings. He opened his arms and she flung herself in them without hesitation. He rubbed her back as she kept on crying. 

Finally, when her tears abated somewhat, she spoke. "Why does it seem that Ron and I regress whenever we disagree on things? I mean, is it just me or do we sound exactly the way we did whenever we argued four years ago?"

Harry gave a slight grin. "Er, you actually do. I just refrain from sending you both to your time-out corners whenever that happens."

This brought a upward tug to the corners of her mouth. She said wistfully, "Why can't we go past all that? We're already in our seventh year, for goodness' sake."

"Maybe you and Ron just need to hash things out." Harry thought that perhaps Ron also needed to grow up a little, since he was still prone to reacting to Draco. Even with the unspoken slight truce they had because of Hermione. But he refrained from mentioning it to her, due to a sense of boyish loyalty.

They continued talking in hushed voices until Harry noticed that Hermione was no longer responding. He looked carefully and lips twitched in a slight grin upon seeing that she was asleep. All that crying had made her tired.

Harry rested his cheek on top of her head and thought for a while. He really had to talk to Ron about this...

The next thing he knew, someone was shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes blearily and noticed that Seamus was grinning from ear-to-ear. Seamus moved back and Harry saw that some students from assorted houses were looking at him and Hermione, like they were zoo animals. He looked down on his chest and saw that Hermione was still fast asleep. He motioned for the others to go away but they refused to budge, waiting for both of them to stand up. He exhaled sharply and the motion of his chest caused Hermione to stir. He stood up by pushing his feet against the shelf, his back against the grills, he half-dragged her with him and twisted to shield her from the curious looks of the others.

"Hermione, wake up. It's time for supper."

Hermione yawned, covering her mouth with one hand. She rested her forehead on his chest and drowsily asked, "What time is it?"

She was startled into wakefulness when she heard Ron say, "It's time for supper. And since half of the seventh years were curious and decided to look for the both of you --- I went along to make sure they behaved themselves." Ron glared at the others.

Suddenly, Hermione wished for the floor to swallow her up. Whole. Now. Her heart sank as she realised the picture they must have presented to the others. 

She wondered what Harry thought about it. She risked a peek at him and was caught in his gaze. Her action had brought her face too close to Harry's. She felt her heartbeat quicken.

Harry was startled when Hermione looked up at him. Only an inch more and they'd be kissing. His sudden intake of breath signalled that his heart was pumping overtime --- it seemed as if all the oxygen in the room had been sucked out and he needed desperately to breathe. 

He never knew that her brown eyes had golden flecks in them.

"Are the two of you going to stay here or are you coming down for supper?" Ron's voice cut through their trance.

They sprang apart and averted their gazes from each other. Hermione picked up her things busily and Harry dusted off his robe. The others seemed to have disappeared.

Harry looked at Ron gratefully. "Thanks, Ron."

Ron smirked. "Anything for the two who keep my bet going. Hopefully, it'll go on for a long time."

"I want you to stop that, Ron." Hermione spoke up. "It's not a very nice thing to do."

"Why, am I about to lose my bet soon?" Ron fished a little.

"Ron. It's. None. Of. Your. Business. Really, now. Harry..."

Harry looked at Hermione mischievously and brought his hand to his chest theatrically. "You have cut me to the quick. My heart may never recover from that rejection. And all this time, I thought..."

He was cut off by Hermione whacking his arm. "Harry!" She blushed hotly and brought her hands to her cheeks. "Oy..."

Ron looked suspiciously at them. "Okay, is there anything I _really_ should know?"

"Nothing!" They both said quickly, which only served to raise Ron's suspicions a notch.

"Anyway, I'm hungry," said Harry, striving for a casual tone. "Ready to go, Herm?" He gallantly held out an arm for her.

"Ready when you are, Har." She all but withered him with a look.

Ron sensed that everything was back to normal and decided to play along. "Hey, I don't have a nickname." He sulked playfully.

"Well, there's Ronniekins..." Harry said thoughtfully, stroking an imaginary beard. He grinned and dodged when Ron tried to smack him in the arm.

"But that would have even doubled the length of his name instead of shortening it..." Hermione countered.

"Guess we'll all have to revert to our old names, then." Harry said decisively.

Hermione slipped a hand into the crook of each boy's elbow and that was the way they all went down to the Great Hall.

************

After supper, Hermione and Ron went off to the Prefects' Meeting Room while Harry went on to Gryffindor Tower. They were the first ones to arrive. Hermione started writing immediately on the board, listing down the order of the topics for discussion. Ron sprawled himself on one of the chairs around the round oak table.

Draco was next. He and Ron eyed each other warily before giving a terse nod to acknowledge the others' presence. Terry Boot, the Prefect for Ravenclaw was next, with Susan Bones, for Hufflepuff, arriving soon after. The house prefects for the fifth and sixth forms were slowly making their way inside. After a few minutes, making a grand entrance was Tracey Davis, the Slytherin Prefect, who plopped down in the chair beside Susan, waving vacantly at the others. "Now that I'm here, on with the show," she said sarcastically.

Draco smiled flirtatiously at Tracey, who positively preened upon being given a bit of his attention. He was amused to see this and turned to face the board, hiding a smirk. He felt a little put out when he saw that Hermione seemed annoyed at him for what he did but decided to brazen it out and smirked at her.

Hermione felt disgusted. Draco was as vain as ever, playing on a crush probably he knew his fellow Slytherin had on him. She turned towards to the board, while Draco walked to the front from the back of the room to take charge of the meeting. They had arranged to take turns; the first one was his.

Hermione set up a Quick Quill for recording the meeting; she recalled Rita Skeeter briefly, she of the exaggerating quill and shivered a little in disgust. At least this one was charmed to write things verbatim, without adding any extras.

Draco cleared his throat and rapped his knuckles on the table for attention. The others stopped immediately from conversing with each other and turned towards him expectantly.

"I formally declare this first meeting open. We have convened in order to talk about some very important topics on hand (he inclined his head slightly towards the board for emphasis) and we count on your cooperation towards implementing them.

The first order of business is the attacks on the students. So far, some mysterious men have attacked both our Head Girl and the Prefect for Gryffindor (he refrained resolutely from mentioning the words "Death Eaters"). It has been speculated that the attack at the Three Broomsticks last night was connected to this in some way, although there is no conclusive proof for this.

"In order to facilitate a better method for preventing additional attacks on the students, we have been advised to assign everyone to go about in pairs. Gr--, er, Hermione and I will be assigned as partners, you (he pointed to Ron) and you (he indicated Susan) will pair up and the two of you (he pointed to Terry and Tracey) will partner each other." He quickly paired off the prefects in the lower forms in the same manner, by year level. "Is that understood?"

Tracey tapped her long fingernails in an impatient tattoo on the table. "Shouldn't we stick to each other by houses?"

Draco shot her a withering look and she pouted. "We are assigned like this as Prefects. However, the rest of the students will be assigned partners in their own houses. In the future, kindly refrain from interrupting. In short --- shut up." 

Tracey sulked at this reprimand. She crossed her arms defensively in front of her and huffed a little.

Draco ignored this and went on with the agenda. "The prefects are assigned to each other for convenience, so that information dissemination can proceed more smoothly. Everyone should stay with their partners at all possible times. It is imperative that partners know where the other is. Otherwise, the purpose of the task loses its point. Is that understood?"

He banged his fist on the table for emphasis; Susan jumped a little in her seat while Ron frowned at Draco after noticing that Susan was startled.

Draco went on. "The next is the night curfew imposed on all the students. As soon as darkness falls, everyone should be inside the castle. No student will be allowed to go out at night. This is set for immediate implementation until further notice."

The others nodded in complete understanding.

"Third, a headcount will be done every so often to assure us that no pair will get lost. This will be done periodically; the prefects are expected to do this in addition to their tasks."

Draco glanced at the board for reference. "Fourth, students can only go down on weekend jaunts to Hogsmeade in groups. No one should go about outside Hogwarts on their own. Safety in numbers, blah-blah.

"Any questions?" 

"I have a question," Susan said timidly. "What about the year levels? Will students have to be assigned a partner according to their year?" Her voice grew stronger as she warmed up. "Are there any changes in routine that we might have?"

Draco looked towards Hermione, who addressed the concerns. "Ideally, everyone should be assigned to someone in their year. That way, they have the same schedules. The only change in routine would be the fact that no one should go about on their own, even inside the school premises. It allows us to keep track of all the students and would make it more difficult for anyone with bad intentions to target students."

Susan nodded in satisfaction.

"We now put this meeting to a close. Inform your houses by this evening about the changes."

Everyone stood up and filed to go outside the room. Draco and Hermione fixed the room and waited for everyone to leave before going out. Hermione saw Susan and Ron going off in the direction of the Hufflepuff dormitories, while Terry and Tracey headed towards the Slytherin ones.

Draco brought Hermione in front of the Fat Lady and she waited until he had turned the corner before whispering, "Cherry cordial."

"Ooooh, where?" The Fat Lady swung her portrait open, looking disappointed as she remembered that this was the current password. Hermione stepped inside. She went over to the couch and sat down wearily beside Harry, who scooted over and she automatically laid her head on his shoulder. Neither noticed that all conversation in the Common Room became excited whispers. They waited for the portrait hole to open again, for Ron.

Ron stepped in tiredly and crossed the room to sit on the couch. He sat down beside Hermione, who straightened up and leaned back against the couch, making space for him. 

Neville went to the couch, urged on by Lavender and Parvati. He asked hopefully, " Are the two of you going out now? After what we saw in the library..." he trailed off, addressing Harry and Hermione.

Hermione pretended to misunderstand the question and deliberately said, "Well, the three of us have always gone out..." She felt a nudged from Ron, glared at him before resignedly saying, "No, we're just friends."

A chorus of groans greeted that announcement. Neville slapped his thigh in disgust and moved back to the table where Parvati and Lavender were.

Ron gained his second wind. He jumped up energetically and went around, collecting from even more people than the last time. He plopped back into the couch, stuffing the money in his pockets. His face looked like it was about to split from grinning so much.

Hermione whispered heatedly. "That's the very last time. Promise me that."

Ron whispered back, "Okay, I promise." He raised his right hand in a pledge. "No more bets. I've got enough for a new broom anyway. After the spectacle you made of yourselves in the library, so many people were sure about winning...but the next time, I might not be as lucky." He quirked an eyebrow inquiringly at them.

Hermione changed the topic. "Everything okay with the Hufflepuffs?" she asked.

"Yes, Susan made the announcement." Ron eyed the Gryffindors who were looking expectantly at him. "Guess I have to make the one here now."

Ron stood up and clapped his hands twice as a signal. Everyone immediately stopped their conversations.

A hush fell as Ron told everyone about the new developments. He started assigning partners and the Gryffindors paired off in response. A solemn hush fell on the occupants of the Common Room. It seemed that everyone realised the gravity of the situation.

Hermione turned to Harry, wide-eyed, her heart beating fast in trepidation. Would something happen to him next? she thought.

Harry glanced reassuringly at her, looped an arm over her shoulders and squeezed gently. He could take care of himself --- she shouldn't worry about that. He removed his arm as she smiled at him. He felt his heart catch in his chest, skipping a beat. Uh-oh. This was Hermione, he reminded himself.

It was not the speechlessness and nervousness he felt around Cho before; this one punched him hard in the chest. He felt himself growing a bit hot under the collar.

Harry was blushing. Hermione was surprised to see a red flush creeping on his cheeks. It made him look more...vulnerable. She felt like throwing her arms around him in a hug, except that there were so many people and she was unsure about why she felt like that. His hair flopped over his glasses and she got the urge to brush it off his forehead. She started to reach out, only to find her wrist trapped in Harry's gentle grip. 

Ron spoke up again, breaking them out of their reverie. They moved a little away from each other self-consciously. Harry stood up to join Neville, who was his new partner.

Chattering away to each other, the Gryffindors got ready to go up to dormitories and get ready for bed. Ron and Harry brought Hermione to her own quarters, said their goodnights and went back to Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione prepared slowly for bed, walking around in her bare feet while checking her windows. She climbed into bed and lay down, thinking about what happened earlier. But this was Harry...

Harry took out the old book from under his bed and placed it over his trunk, to remind him to talk to Hermione about it the next day. Hermione...

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

End of Chapter

Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 4:

**HarryNZ (Harry!)** - sorry for the delay, got caught up in other duties for FA --- and don't worry, I plan on finishing this; **Clepsydra Delphinus (Cle!)** - you schneaky little funny wench. Of course, loff you lots; **JBob-a-licious (Jy!)** - hope this chapter lived up to your expectations; **erin** - you rock, too! Thanks for the compliments; **lilahp** - Of course, Ron, Harry and Hermione will always be best of friends --- that's why I write about them with this in view. It naturally takes precedence. Glad you liked their relationship with each other here *g*; **calicutie11 (Carla!)** - I'm happy that you liked the little details, I like trying to write exactly how I imagine things to be --- and I laughed at the image of your brother thinking you had gone nuts. *lol*; **Tamz** - yes, you can guess. *snerk* Now you see how things are moving along --- I always look forward to your comments; **Koriander (Myrene!) **- yes, you will get to see more of Draco but as for the doppelganger --- wait and see. *g*; **Smilie117 (Sabs!) **- Thanks for being such a great twinnie --- my, how far we've gone together; **wild prefect (wildie!)** - glad you persevered and gave in a review, I really appreciated that; **Ebonyink (Eb!) **- well, you knocked me for six when I saw that you reviewed. I know you have such a busy sched --- thanks!; **little*** - thanks! I enjoy writing this; **Lucky11 (Elia!)** - and your gift for thoughtful reviews amaze me as well. I like all your comments --- it made my day when you complimented me on my "gift" for description and for the flow of the story. *blush* You know what they say, a person can live for a month on a compliment...it helped to push me into finishing this chapter. Not to worry, I will be faster with the next one; **HViper182** - keeping it going!; **NovaGirl** - capitalisations excused *lol*; **Truxy** - there's a little spice in Harry. *wink* And Hermione could only remember the part before she passed out, actually; **maggie potter** - thanks! Hope you figured out by now what the dream was all about; **Sakura** - I'm flattered! Anyway, I hope you come aboard and register --- I'm sure it'll be fun to have you around; and **Hermione M. Potter** - enjoy the rest of this fic. Strap in for the ride.


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